Mother's Mask
by hiraikoneko
Summary: Arisa hasn't heard her name spoken in 4 years. She hasn't been home in 4 years. She hasn't had a family in 4 years. But that all changes after she's forced to go on leave and give up her mask. After visiting a string of bars, she's 'attacked' by a group of men, only for an unlikely little hero to try to save the day. The least she can do is save him in return, right?
1. Leaving

**_Hello my Darling readers! I'm starting yet another fic...even though I REALLY REALLY REALLY should NOT be doing this. So many fics I already need to work on...ugh._**

 ** _Anyways, thought I'd try my hand at writing one of those 'OC raises Naruto to be kick ass' fics...figured it wouldn't hurt?_**

 ** _I can't proise this fic will be updated very frequently, or it it'll ever get very far...but i wanna try?_**

 **DISCLAIMER: I own nothing but my OC. Not making a profit. Just having fun?**

* * *

The kunoichi, currently off duty from her usual ANBU activities, took a deep drink from the bottle in her hand as she stared blankly at the wall in front of her. She knew she'd have to stop soon and get ready for her shift. It was her turn to watch the boy. Of course, she'd have to stop by the Hokage's office to make sure the old codger didn't have any 'side quests' for her to complete. Not that she minded. She loved the side quests. Those people typically deserved every second of fear they experienced.

For now, however, she could drink her booze and get lost in her thoughts. When duty called, she'd just burn the alcohol out with chakra. How some people never figured that out, she didn't know. How did they think that old lady, Tsunade or whatever, could drink a bar dry but still go into surgery not at hour later?

Chakra, people. Really.

She kept staring at the wall. It was white, with no decorations to be seen. There was a hole where a nail once held up a picture, but nothing had been hung there in...four years? Yeah. Four years.

She hadn't really been back here in four years either. For the most part, she stayed in the barracks. It was better there. Less stuff to remind her of her family. It wasn't that she had bad memories of them…it just hurt too much to think about them.

Her parents had been amazing people. Both had been shinobi themselves, her father a chunin and her mother a jonin. They hadn't been particularly talented, and as she grew up, they had spent more time at home than on missions. They were good parents though. They taught her how to fight and helped her with her academy work. They'd celebrated her graduation, even though she'd only graduated young because the war effort needed more soldiers fighting. Each of her promotions, from genin to chunin to jonin. When the Fourth had been chosen, they'd thrown a huge party for the entire block. Maybe that was where she'd gotten all her wildness from? They'd been party animals...

They could afford parties whenever they wanted, despite her parents not working full time. Her father had come from a well-to-do civilian family, and he'd inherited a large sum of money. He'd also inherited her family home. There had only been the three of them in that household, but the building had clearly been meant to hold a small clan at some point. She'd never asked her father where they'd all gone, because surely that hadn't all just died out, right? Still, growing up the place had been really empty. And now? Now it was just a great big empty shell of a home.

Her home.

She couldn't bring herself to sell it, even though she'd avoided the place since her mother had died. It had been hard enough for her to be there after the death of her father, who had taken a bad fall after a night of drinking on the town. A bad fall down a flight of stairs. He didn't get back up again. How did a trained shinobi die from a little fall, when an entire war couldn't kill him?

It had taken months before she and her mother had started to get over the loss. They'd finally stopped looking around the house for him, or calling him over to ask his opinion. They were healing. They bonded over his loss, and were looking forward to Konoha's bright future in the era of peace before them.

And then her mother died too, along with hundreds of other people, the night the kyuubi attacked. She could still remember the way her mother's eyes dim-

The house became too empty after that.

So, she'd taken up the Third's offer to become an ANBU operative, and here she was, four years later. She did stop by the old homestead from time to time...once a year or so...mostly to make sure there were no squatters and to clean up the dust that clung to things after a while.

Her internal alarm clock rang, jolting her from memories of the past. Time for work. The woman stood up, placing the empty bottle next to the spot on the floor she'd previously been seated. A gloved hand reached up to the side of her head, where she'd slid her mask. Once she put the Mask on, she knew she'd be like another person. The new her.

It was better that way. 'Risu' was much easier to handle than the real her. Arisa. When was the last time she'd been called Arisa? Must have been four years too. She'd never really been off duty since she joined.

The white mask was slid into place, and the woman's entire demeanor shifted into something more controlled and rigid. Risu's chakra flared to burn off the alcohol in their system. If the process was painful in any way, it didn't show. All anyone watching would have been able to see was a blank expression on a mask designed to look somewhat like a rodent. Little round ears were carved on the top of the mask, and the mouth and nose protruded forward slightly to mimic an animal's muzzle. The look was completed by a pair of swirls on the cheeks of the mask.

It almost looked cute.

Almost.

If one ignored the fact that the person wearing it was trained to kill another person in numerous different ways.

ANBU operative Risu raised a hand in a single hand sign and with a single burst of chakra, they disappeared, leaving nothing but a lonely acorn falling to the floor.

The acorn bounced a couple times, then rolled a short distance before coming to rest on the cool hardwood floor, next to the bottle half-empty bottle of booze.

* * *

"Reporting for duty, Lord Hokage." Risu said in a soft tone once they arrived into the office. It was empty save for themselves, the Hokage, and a small number of her fellow ANBU who were hidden around the room.

"Risu-san...I've been meaning to talk to you about something that has come to my attention recently."

The ANBU ignored the feeling of apprehension attempting to take root. There was no room for that emotion. It would only hinder their work. They didn't verbally answer, instead politely inclining their head for him to continue speaking.

"Recently I've been going over your file, and reports indicate that you have not taken leave since you started your time in ANBU. Is this information accurate?"

"Yes sir."

"I see."

Risu narrowed their eyes at their Kage from behind their mask. What was this leading to? So what if they hadn't taken leave? They didn't need it. They were perfectly capable of carrying out orders and seeing to their duties. Leave was for injured people, or those who couldn't cope with the demands being an ANBU put on your body and mind.

Risu was coping just fine.

"Would you be interested in taking a short break?" There was something in his voice. It sounded like he was testing them. Only Risu wasn't sure what he wanted them to say. No, they didn't need or want a break. If Risu said 'yes' the only thing they'd be saying was that they were lazy, or running away from their duties. If Risu said 'no'…well. Honestly, Risu wasn't sure what the harm of saying 'no' was.

Risu blinked behind their mask, "No sir. That is not necessary. I am fully able to complete my duties, and am in no need of rest."

The Hokage gave a loud sigh.

Wrong answer then, it seemed.

"I'm sorry Risu-san, but I must ask that you take a period of leave. While I'm sure you can perform your duties well, it is important that all members of ANBU take leave, so that they can rest their minds as well as their bodies."

By ask, he meant order.

Risu felt something almost akin to anger rise up, but they did their best to quell it, lest one of their comrades notice the fluctuation in Risu's chakra. It was bad enough that all of ANBU would know they was being forced to take leave by the end of the night. They didn't need to find out it pissed Risu off too.

But how could the Hokage do this to them? Didn't he realize how much they _needed_ to do their duties? Didn't he realize that without Risu, Arisa was as good as dead? There was nothing for her outside of ANBU. No friends, no family. No hobbies. For all intents and purposes, there was no Arisa any longer. She'd been dead for four years.

And Risu knew for a fact there were other ANBU who hadn't taken leave in the entire time they'd been in ANBU. Several of them were in their squad. Operative Inu was the first to come to mind. He'd been ANBU longer than Risu had, and they'd never seen the man take a day off.

Part of Risu was tempted to bring up this argument, but they wouldn't throw Inu to the wolves like that. While Risu didn't know him outside of ANBU activities, they…understood him. He was just like them. Needed to work…didn't exist without it, since there wasn't really anyone out there who knew him.

"Risu-san?"

The voice of the Hokage dragged Risu out of their thoughts. Internally, Risu cussed. Had they really spaced out like that?

"Sorry sir," Risu bowed as they apologized, "I was…thinking."

"About?"

"I'm not sure leave will be as…relaxing an experience for me as you hope, sir."

The ANBU Operative took the moment to realize just how old the Hokage looked upon hearing those words. The old man raised a hand, making a gesture that caused the other ANBU in the room to leave, giving them some privacy. He heaved another sigh and his shoulders sagged, "Arisa..."

Risu stiffened, uncomfortable with the sudden change of address. Hesitantly, Risu reached up and removed their mask.

Arisa slowly blinked her pale blue eyes, adjusting to the change as she removed the mask.

"You know I'm doing this for your own good, right? You're young and have your whole life ahead of you. When I offered for you to join ANBU, I didn't expect you to become quite so dedicated."

"I know sir…it's just…I…I don't have a life, sir." Arisa tucked a stray strand of brown hair behind her ear. She struggled to explain herself without sounding as pathetic as she was, "I'm not…I…I'm…better when I work. If I'm not working, it's hard for me to…"

"Arisa, I'm sure you can find something to occupy your time. I'm afraid I simply cannot allow you to continue working in ANBU without you taking leave every once in a while. It's standard protocol."

She runs a hand over her face, rubbing at the bridge of her nose in frustration, "I understand that sir…I just…"

"Please Arisa, just give it a try. Try to find a hobby…make some friends who don't wear masks. We live in a time of peace…take advantage of that."

The woman only sighed and nodded. Her pale eyes looking anywhere but at him.

"Go home Arisa. Tomorrow I'll send someone over to give you the full details of your time off, including when you'll be starting back up again- If you still want to be ANBU. You never know, you might just enjoy the time out from under the mask."

With that dismissal, she gave a slow nod before spinning on her heel and leaving. Her head was held high and her back straight.

It was time to go 'home' and get nice and hammered.

"Oh," the Hokage's voice made her pause, "When you go to the barracks to collect your belongings, please notify Inu-san that he'll be covering your shift for the next week or two, alright?"

Collect her things? Did that mean she couldn't stay at the barracks?

She'd have to…

"Sir, are you sure I can't stay at the barracks?"

"No Arisa, you need to get away from the ANBU lifestyle. That includes sleeping in the barracks. You have a lovely home…use it."

She sighed once more, but nodded again, "Yes sir."

"And remember to give Inu-san your mask as well. You won't be using it until you're called in."

Walking down the hall, she slipped her mask back on, and let Risu take control.

The barracks weren't far from the Hokage building. A literal 'hop skip and a jump' with liberal use of chakra had them at ANBU HQ in no time at all. They entered the building, going through the necessary security checks to enter the barracks completely.

Risu entered the common room they shared with their squad, taking notice that only Operative Inu was in the room. He looked up from the book he was reading as Risu entered the room.

"You're back early."

"Hokage-sama has decided I need to go on leave. Something _about ANBU needing to take time off from time to time."_ Risu said in a light tone, but they made sure he understood what they were saying. Risu was warning him that he might be next.

"Time off?" Inu made a weird noise in the back of his throat, something between annoyance, relief and…something Risu wasn't entirely sure of. Inu continued, "When will you be back?"

"That has yet to be determined," they gave a little shrug, but Risu was fully aware of just how heavy their words had been. The news was not something to take lightly.

Risu had worked with Inu long enough to recognize his body language, even with the use of their Masks. Inu was not quite alarmed, but nearly, by the news of Risu's indefinite leave from ANBU. Squads were close knit groups. Like any other team in Konoha, you trusted your life to your team mates. If Risu was leaving, it meant that Inu and the rest of the team would be receiving a new team mate sooner or later. They'd have to rebuild trust with yet another person.

"Will you still be considered a shinobi in that time?"

Again, Risu simply shrugged as they made their way towards their room, Inu following close behind, "It hasn't been confirmed."

"What are you expected to do?" Inu leaned against the doorway, watching as Risu pulled out a storage scroll and began piling items onto the scroll.

Risu paused, giving a little scoff, "I am to 'find a hobby' and 'make friends'."

"You have friends."

"Hokage-sama said 'Friends that don't wear masks'."

Inu shook his head slowly, almost in disbelief. Had the Hokage really said that? Was Sarutobi really so oblivious? How was someone who'd been in ANBU for four years meant to drop it all and become friends with people who had no clue what being in ANBU entailed?

"Why are you packing?"

"Why do you think, _Inu-chan_? I've been ordered to 'go home'."

This time, Inu really was in disbelief. He'd known for years that Risu hated their home, and that they did their best to avoid the place.

"That's…unbelievable."

"I know."

The words were spoken in a dead tone, like Risu had completely given up and resigned themselves to the fact that they'd be sleeping in the one place they hated most. After a moment, Risu turned to look at Inu over their shoulder.

He could practically see the smirk on their face as Risu's voice took on an all-too familiar lilt, "Maybe I could share a bed with you, eh, Inu-chan?"

It took all his will power not to roll his eyes. Risu had always been like this. To avoid a serious situation, they'd start teasing and flirting. Specifically with Inu, as they were closer in age. It sometimes made Inu wonder if Risu was really cut out for this line of work. They'd never told Inu or the rest of the team why they joined ANBU…only that the Hokage offered and Risu 'had no one left to tell me not to'.

"No."

The smaller ANBU let out a sigh, "Was worth a shot. Guess I'll just have to imagine being held tight in those muscular arms as I try to sleep in that cold empty bed of mine."

After a few moments of silence, Risu stood straight and sealed the scroll, hiding their belongings and leaving their room barren.

Inu could only stare in confusion as Risu reached up to their mask. It quickly dawned on him just what Risu was about to do, and he rushed to stop them.

It wasn't that ANBU didn't see each other without their masks. On the field, the mask had to be removed in some situations. It was hard to do CPR when both participants had their faces covered. No, it was accepted that when someone's face was revealed on the field, you forgot it. You did everything in your power to ignore what you saw underneath.

But taking off the mask?

Risu wasn't the type to show off their face. Risu didn't even like to show off their gender when on duty- and they were _always on duty_. Inu knew who Risu was, and Inu was nearly positive Risu knew who Inu was, but both had avoided showing their faces as much as possible, save one or two incidents over their four years serving together.

Avoiding Inu's hands as he tried to stop them, Risu removed the mask from their face, revealing Arisa once again.

Arisa could feel Inu's eyes on her face as he took in her appearance- now that it was _allowed_. She'd given him permission to know who she was. Part of Arisa hoped Inu would do the same for her…but she knew better. Inu was a private guy…and she already had a pretty good guess who he was. It wasn't like spiky silver hair was a common thing in their village.

"Hokage-sama has also ordered that Risu's mask be left in your hands until Risu has been relieved of their…leave." Arisa gave him an awkward smile, "Hokage-sama also wants you to know that you'll be covering Risu's shift for the next two weeks."

Inu stiffened, and Arisa gave him a sympathetic look. If she had any control, she would never have assigned the extra shifts on Inu. Not when the shifts were spent watching over…

"Anyways. I'll be going now. Gotta find myself a hobby now that I have all this…spare time…" Arisa pressed the mask into Inu's hands before disappearing right before his eyes. There was no smoke or leaves (or flower petals as some kunoichi preferred) left in her wake.

Only a single acorn, that bounced as it hit the floor before rolling to a stop.


	2. Meeting

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own _Naruto._**

* * *

"Arisa!" An excited female voice rose up above the din created by the busy market. People shuffled around, chattering about this and that- who's marrying who, who eloped with who, who tried to kill who- the usual nonsense. Someone further down the street was practically screaming about the price of fish this week.

The eighteen year old could barely stand it. All she could think of was the quiet of her room in the barracks. The entire place was so quiet she could hear the sound of Inu turning pages in his book in another room, or Neko watering his bonsai tree.

She'd already spent the night before wide awake trying to ignore the ghosts of her family that wandered the home she was expected to live in- everywhere she looked, something triggered some memory or another of people she'd never get to see again. Every memory was just another reminder that Arisa was completely alone and everyone she loved was gone forever. Pleasant. Sweet dreams, Arisa-chan!

One day off duty and she could already swear she was cracking.

T&I should put some research into it… Off duty seemed to be the most effective torture method Arisa had encountered.

"ARISA!" The voice called again. Arisa blinked, looking up from the tomato she'd been glaring at. The woman had spent the entire 'supply run' ignoring the noise around her to the best of her ability-

She'd been doing such a good job she'd nearly missed that someone was calling for her. Again.

Or maybe it had something to do with her not being used to being called 'Arisa' anymore? Four years answering to 'Squirrel' will do that to a person.

Icy blue eyes looked up to see one Mitarashi Anko barreling towards her, through the crowd of meandering shoppers. The sixteen year old is dressed in a scandalously revealing outfit- Arisa was actually rather happy to see how confident she looked- Considering the whole…Orochimaru thing.

"Finally I get your attention!"

Arisa forced herself to put a smile on, mouth twitching slightly. Like the muscles in her face had forgotten how to smile…it almost hurt.

"Sorry, Anko-chan. I've been a little…distracted today."

"That's fine- Where have you been?" The younger girl asked, as Arisa paid for the tomato (she'd squeezed it hard enough for it to bruise- she was lucky it hasn't been squished) and moved on to another stand. Anko fell into step beside her comrade.

It had been four years since Anko had seen Arisa. She was sure she recognized her chakra signature around the village- so she hadn't gone on a long-term mission…but she'd disappeared from all their old haunts. It wasn't like they'd been best friends or anything…barely more than acquaintances really.

There was something off about Arisa now. The way her face twitched uncomfortably, the distant look in her eyes. Something had happened. She wasn't the same- Arisa had been a partier. She'd been the kind of person who joked and smiled and flirted with anyone who crossed her path and met her fancy.

"Mostly guarding someone."

"For four years? Shit, that had to have been boring."

Arisa gave her a slight smirk, and a sideways look as she continued her shopping, "Oh, it had its ups and downs…They're pretty important…need to be constantly protected."

Anko raised a brow, but stopped asking about her… _friend_ 's 'guard duty'. She could tell by the way Arisa avoided mentioning the person's name or gender that it was someone VERY important. So important that their identity was a secret.

"So you're done the mission then?"

Blue eyes narrow to glare at the apple currently held in a calloused palm, brows furrowing and lip jutting out in what Anko could only describe as a pout.

"What's wrong?" Anko asked.

She received a pitiful stare in return, "They're making me take time off."

The younger of the pair blinked, "Why are you saying that like it's a bad thing?"

"I just…I don't want the time off."

Something in the way Arisa said it made Anko think there was more to it than that. And honestly, she knew there was more to it than that. Anyone who knew anything about Arisa knew that she loved time off. It meant she could kick back, relax, and spend time with her friends- Although Arisa admittedly only hung out with a small number of people. Anko was sure none of them had heard from Arisa either in the last four years.

It was strange, how four years could change a person.

Anko would just have to see just how much of this 'new' Arisa was permanent, and how much she could shake loose with a bit of fun.

"Well, looks like you and I are gonna have plenty of time to catch up then, eh? And you can tell me if you met any studs on this mission of yours-"

"Oh Anko, let me tell you…I had this one _dog just_ _barking up a tree for me_." In the sly grin Arisa gave Anko, the younger woman could see the old Arisa shine through.

"What poor sap have you been mercilessly teasing for the last four years?"

* * *

The front door closed behind her, and she set down the bags of groceries she'd been carrying for the last few hours as she and Anko wandered around. She leaned against the door and let out a heavy sigh. The eighteen year old was exhausted-

Not physically. Well. Sort of physically too…but for the most part it was just mental.

Too many people.

Anko had just been the first. On their wander, they'd come across Kurenai, Gai, Raido- Just…too many people. All wanting to talk to Arisa, wanting to know where she'd been, what she'd been up to…

She'd been there the whole time. She had barely left the village in the four years she was in ANBU. They just…hadn't known she was in ANBU. It wasn't like it was something you just…announced.

She'd done her best to be social and pleasant, but eventually, she'd extracted herself from the chattering people and nearly booked it back to her home- Only to regret getting there instantly, as she took in the dark windows, peeling paint and stale air that filled the house no one had lived in for years.

She pushed herself off the door and grabbed her bags. She took her time putting the groceries away, and when that was done, she was left standing in the middle of the livingroom. She'd pulled the sheets off the furniture and dusted and cleaned up the night before, unable to sleep.

After a second of wondering what she should do now, she made her way to the bookshelf where the family kept their rather meager collection of literature. She pulled a book off the shelf and made her way to the couch, not even looking to see what she'd grabbed.

It didn't really matter what it was about. She wouldn't _really_ be reading it. She'd just be reading it to waste the time away. It wasn't like she had anything better to do.

* * *

A knock at the door made her look up from the third book she'd taken from the shelf. A few hours had passed, but it was still too early in the day for her to even think about sleeping. Or drinking. Well. Maybe drinking.

Setting down the book, she made her way to the door and opened it. On the other side of the threshold, a nervous looking chunin stood holding a clipboard. She raised an eyebrow when the teen (he looked to be about sixteen? Couple years younger than her at least) failed to say a word, and continued to just stare at her for a moment. Arisa leaned against her doorframe and felt the beginnings of a smirk begin to dawn on her face. She didn't smirk though, because she was too busy trying to remember where she'd seen him before. And she had. The long scar across his face was rather distinct.

But where had she seen him?

She shook her head and decided to get thing going, "So…what can I do for you today?"

The chunin blinked and quickly became embarrassed when he realized how long he'd just been staring at her, "Sorry, sorry! Arisa, right? Hokage-sama sent me with information about your vacation."

Arisa pouted at the word 'vacation'. Vacation implied it was something she wanted…a way to kick back and relax…there was nothing relaxing about this.

"Alright…what's the verdict? When can I get back to work?"

The chunin blinked again, and Arisa got the distinct impression that some part of him was laughing at her attitude. Then, he gave a little shrug and took a look at what was written on his clipboard.

"Ah…well…Hokage-sama's got it written here that you're to spend a month off duty…and then you are to continue your duties as a jonin until Hokage-sama deems fit to return to your…other duties?"

Arisa let out a pained groan, letting her head fall to the side and hit the doorframe she was leaning against.

"U-um…are you okay?" The chunin asked, looking slightly panicked. The concern in his tone was completely sincere, surprising her.

"Yeah, yeah. Just disappointed. Nothing to worry about, chunin-kun." She gave him a light smile, kind of touched that this random guy was so concerned.

"Oh! I forgot to- I'm Umino Iruka."

"Arisa." The brunette woman said, even though she was well aware he knew her name. After a moment, she tilted her head and grinned at the younger teen. She'd thought of the perfect way to cheer up.

Iruka got the sudden feeling he was being hunted by a predator as she leaned in ever so slightly.

"Ne, Iruka-kun?"

"Yes?"

"Is it true that dolphins enjoy recreational sex?"

He paused and stared at her with wide black eyes. Underneath his tan, Arisa could see a heavy blush blooming as his mind caught up.

"Um…I don't…I mean…I'm sure…Ah…I have to go carry out a few more errands for Hokage-sama! It was n-nice to meet you, Arisa-san? Ihavetogonowbye!" He sputtered for a long moment before he spun on his heel and speed walked down the front steps and off her property.

Arisa was cackling as she headed back inside and closed the door.

He was almost as much fun as her Inu-chan was. How cute.

* * *

Arisa had spent the night tossing and turning, staring up at the ceiling of her old bedroom. Nothing had changed- not that she'd expected it to. It wasn't like she had moved out and there'd been anyone around to redecorate it. It was the same sky blue walls, white ceiling, dark hardwood flooring. The mattress was bare, but that was only because she needed to get new bedding- she hadn't thought about it when she was shopping the day before, but her current bedding was dusty, faded and worn.

If she had to suffer through living here, she wanted to at least have nice things to distract herself.

And she had the money to do so. All the money her parents had left her had been added to during the four years she worked as ANBU…and she rarely spent a single coin…so it had added up over the years.

So, in the morning she'd by some new bedding. And maybe some new clothes, since all she had were 'ninja designs'. Some comfy clothing would be nice.

Bedding. Clothes…

She sort of wanted to paint the house too. Maybe if she changed the way it looked, it wouldn't hurt so much to be there?

Bedding. Clothes. Paint.

It looked as though the morning would hold more shopping.

* * *

Arisa wasn't sure what made her step forward. What made her grab the man's wrist as he tried to con the boy out of his money. All she knew was that she'd come to the register to buy an armful of clothing, and was greeted with this sight.

She recognized the little boy instantly. Uzumaki Naruto was the one she'd spent the last four years guarding on and off, in between bouts of espionage, assassinations and sabotage. Currently, the little boy stood at the counter on his tip toes, holding up a handful of money as he tried to buy a new shirt and a pair of shorts. The clothes he was currently wearing were too small for him, and she could see places where the fabric had worn through.

The orphanage should have replaced his clothing months ago- she'd told the Hokage they hadn't been taking care of him properly, but there hadn't been anything the old man could do without Danzo crying 'favouritism'.

"This is all I have…is this enough?"

Glancing at what the small blond child was offering the man, she could see it easily doubled the amount that he was trying to pay.

He didn't even know how to count money yet…

She felt anger curling in her gut. There should have been someone with him…someone more than ANBU guards who weren't allowed to speak to him- could only intervene if his life was threatened- someone should be raising him. Hadn't that been the Fourth's wish? That his son be treated like the hero he was? How was this any way to thank either of them?

The man at the register sneered down at the little boy, reaching out to take the money the little boy held out. He made a big show of looking over the offered money, humming to himself.

"Well kid, it looks like you're a little bit short…but since I'm such a nice guy, I'll pay the rest." The man reached out to take the money from the little boy…and before Arisa knew it, she was standing behind Naruto, one hand on his shoulder, the other gripping the man's wrist firmly to stop him from taking the money.

"Wah!" Naruto blinked up at her with shocked blue eyes, "Where'd you come from-"

"What do you think you're doing?! Let me go!" The cashier snarled.

He tried to yank his hand away. Arisa gave him a pleasant smile. Her hand tightened its grip.

"Sorry. I just couldn't stand there and watch you take the boy's money," she ruffled the little boy's blond hair. Naruto stared up at her, something in his face a mask of confusion.

Arisa had watched the boy his entire life, and knew his expressions well. She could practically hear him thinking…wondering why she was stopping the cashier from taking his money.

"Listen lady-"

"I'll buy his things with mine. Kids should save up their money for things they like. Adults should buy the things kids need," taking her hand off the boy's head, she reached into her pocket and pulled out enough money to cover the price of both Naruto's and her own shopping.

The cashier muttered to himself before adding her purchases to the total and snatching the money from the counter. In response to the man's miserable reaction, Arisa once again shot him a pleasant smile and thanked him for the service. She placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder and lead the boy towards the door, making sure to shoot a 'have a nice day!' over her shoulder.

Once they were outside, Arisa bent down so she was eye level with the little boy. Internally, she was a little amazed by how blue his eyes were. They had to be brighter than his father's eyes had been, right? She was sure she'd remember seeing eyes so blue before now. She'd never been close enough to the boy to see his eyes like this.

After taking in his eye colour, she glanced over the little boy, looking for any bruises or scratches- anything to indicate he'd been hurt recently. Years of looking out for him had ingrained the habit into her.

"Um…thankyouforbuyingmystuffforme?" The little boy couldn't take any more of her silent staring, and rushed to fill the silence between them.

Arisa blinked, realizing she'd probably freaked the kid out a little, "Sorry kid- and no problem. Like I said. Kids shouldn't have to buy their own clothing- why hasn't the orphanage replaced yours?"

Of course, she already knew the answer. The orphanage didn't want to replace them.

But, if she could get him to talk about it…

He looked away from her, "The lady said the orphanage didn't have enough money…so they didn't have enough to buy clothes for everyone, and I didn't get any clothes…"

"Did everyone else get clothes?"

Of course they did. That orphanage was very well funded. All the orphans from the Third War and the Kyuubi attack were sent there…and plenty of people, including shinobi, donated. In fact, a large amount of clothing was donated to the orphanage as well.

"Yeah…but it's okay!" He said, smiling at her, "'Cause Jiji gives me an allowance, so I can buy stuff for myself!"

Arisa gave the boy a sad, sad smile, "Hey, can you do me a favour?"

"Um…"

"I just need you to tell Jiji that you need new clothes, and that the orphanage isn't getting enough funding, okidoki? Jiji is the Hokage, right? Hokage-sama will definitely get the orphanage more money."

The little boy nodded eagerly. He could definitely do that!

"And one more thing, okay?"

"Yeah?"

"I want you to be super careful about how much money you give people, okay? Sometimes bad people will try and take more money then they're supposed to."

He stared at her, seemingly shocked by this. Did people really do that? Was that why she stopped the man in the sore from taking his money? But hadn't the man said he was doing Naruto a favour? But he'd been really mean to the lady…and the lady seemed nice enough…

"But…I don't know how much I'm supposed to give."

"No one's taught you how to count money, eh?"

"N-no…"

"Well. You like to eat at Ichiraku Ramen, right?"

He nodded, although he was sort of confused how she knew he and Jiji liked to eat there. He hadn't gone there by himself before though.

"Good. You know, the owner? He's got a daughter, and I'm sure she'd be willing to teach you. Ayame-chan's really nice."

Again, it was something the little boy could do. So…the lady wanted him to talk to Jiji and ask Ayame-chan to teach him to count money?

Arisa ruffled his hair. In the back of her mind, she was dimly aware of the ANBU all around her. In the trees, on rooftops…all watching out for the boy. She just wished they were allowed to approach the boy while they were on duty. From what she could see, speaking to an adult who cared for his best interests would likely do the boy a world of good.

"Okidoki. You do those two things for me, and I'll consider us even," she told the boy, handing him the bag with his clothes in it, "Now then. I have to get going…you make sure you get back to the orphanage quickly, okay?"

Arisa didn't really wait for his answer. She was already straightening up and getting ready to walk away. She didn't want to get in trouble for talking to the kid or something stupid like that.

"Y-yeah…Um…"

She could hear the question in his voice, waiting to be asked. So, she stopped her retreat and stood still, waiting patiently for the kid to say his piece, "Hm? What is it?"

He took in a deep breath.

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto! Thank you for helping me!"

She tried not to snicker. Poor kid was getting his conversations backwards. You were supposed to introduce yourself at the beginning, not the end. And he was so serious about thanking her now! It was adorable.

"Tsutsuji Arisa," she told the boy, forcing her lips up into a kind smile, "But I'll be very upset if you use 'Tsutsuji.'"

"O-okay!"

As she walked away from the boy, her eyes darted to the closest ANBU, who hid in the branches of a nearby tree. The masked man was watching her progress away from the boy. She didn't need to see the face behind the mask to know he didn't exactly approve- but he didn't disapprove either.

As she walked past him, she made sure to stick out her tongue and force her face to smile once again.

It was kind of getting easier?

* * *

Arisa leaned back against the front door of her home once again. Her shopping bags rested by her feet, and her hands hid her face. She took slow breaths.

That had been draining. Between the actual shopping, the confrontation with the cashier and smiling (her cheeks ached something fierce- how the hell could people smile all the time? It HURT!) at the kid so she didn't scare him too much- not to mention the little stare down she had with Inu-chan-

Oh great. She was gonna get called in by the Third in the morning, wasn't she? Fantastic. Now she'd have to explain why she interfered- even though she didn't know why- and whenever she got back on duty she'd have to listen to Inu-chan telling her not to break protocol and interact with the kid, since they weren't supposed to talk to him- Never mind the fact that she wasn't on duty anymore, and was technically off the mission.

What a pain.

And she got the feeling that this wouldn't be the last time she got in trouble for helping the kid- He had a tendency to grow on people he liked like some sort of hellish barnacle. She'd helped him once already...it wouldn't be long before she ended up going out of her way to keep an eye on him.

None of this would have happened if the Third had just let her keep on working...

* * *

 ** _Hey everyone! I hope you liked the second chapter of_ Mother's Mask _! We got a little peek at Arisa's social life- or current lack thereof. She's a bit out of practice with the whole...small talk and expressing emotion thing- I'm sure if she practices in a mirror she'll get the hang of it again?_**

 ** _It looks like Inu-chan was spared from Arisa's flirting for this chapter, at the expense of poor innocent Iruka._**

 _ **And we got to see Arisa and Naruto 'meet'...even though she's been around since he was in diapers- probably changed them too, when none of his caretakers were paying attention.**_

 **Mother's Mask** **_now has 21 favourites, 47 follows and 5 reviews!_**

 ** _Big thanks to_ loveshit, Hallowtide, barrrbs, Northchild _and_ XWingedWolfX _for reviewing!_**

 ** _Please continue to show your support- Reviews keep me alive!_**


	3. Following

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own _Naruto_. **

* * *

"Hokage-sama, it's nice to see you again," Arisa said in a polite tone as she stood in his office, arms tucked behind her back as she rocked back and forth on her feet.

A spark of amusement lit up Hiruzen's eyes as he regarded the young woman he'd summoned to his office earlier that morning, "Indeed, it has been quite some time, hasn't it Arisa?"

"About four years, sir."

"Ah, yes. An awfully long time. It's a shame you haven't stopped by sooner."

The impulse to stick out her tongue was too strong to resist.

It had been so, so long since Arisa had been out to play. She'd forgotten how immature she'd been before she'd become Risu.

The Hokage merely sighed in response. He knew he should reprimand such behaviour…but it had been four years since someone besides Naruto had done anything remotely similar…and he supposed he could let it slide.

"So. What did you want to yell at me for?"

Ah. Right to the point. At least she knew she was in trouble. Sort of. Personally, Hiruzen wished the ANBU could spend time with Naruto. The boy deserved it.

Unfortunately, Danzo would accuse him of ordering his ANBU to manipulate the child. Then, Danzo would _insist_ that Naruto would be safe from influence under Danzo's tutelage. Safe from influence _indeed._

"I had the strangest visit from Naruto yesterday. He was quite excited to tell me about 'this nice lady with a funny smile' who bought his things for him…stopped someone from stealing his money and told him to inform me that the orphanage was _low on funds_."

"She sounds like a nice enough lady," Arisa offered, trying to give an innocent smile. It didn't work well, as her cheeks twitched painfully, and she was quick to let the expression fall.

"And then I received an odd report from Operative Inu that an off-duty ANBU was speaking with Naruto, and stuck her tongue out at Inu as she left."

"That wasn't very polite."

"No. It wasn't," the Third agreed, before he folded his arms and gave her a blank look, "Now. Arisa. Would you care to explain?"

The woman sighed, running a hand through shoulder-length hair, "I don't really know what to say, sir. I came up to the register, and he was _right there_ , trying to buy clothing that should have been given to him at the orphanage. Then, because he doesn't know how to count money, he shows the cashier all his money and asks if he had enough. I could tell right away he had about twice the amount needed…but the cashier tells him he's just a little short…but because the cashier is _such a nice guy_ , he'd be willing to pay the rest."

"So you stepped in?"

"Yes sir. I told him I'd pay for Naruto's things on top of my own purchases, then took the kid outside. I asked him why he was buying clothing in the first place, and he told me the orphanage didn't have enough clothes for the all of the kids…so all the other kids got new clothes, except for Naruto, because there _wasn't enough_ for everyone."

Hiruzen observed the young woman in front of him. For the most part, only her tone displayed her displeasure…but he could see the tensed muscles in her shoulders, and the way her hands balled into shaking fists.

"Arisa."

"Sorry, Sir." Her fists unclenched and hung limply at her sides.

"I understand. There are times when I want to step in myself, but you must understand that certain individuals are less than pleased when the boy is shown any form of favouritism…"

"I'm aware of that, Sir. There have been many times when Risu wished to aid the boy, but was forced to refrain."

Hiruzen gave a sad smile, feeling old and tired. He often did when Naruto was brought up.

"Then you understand why I can't have one of _my_ ANBU interfering with Naruto, right? As much as I know all of you want to help the boy, Danzo will use any-" he was cut off by Arisa. A sudden bright light seemed to shine in her eyes.

"Forgive me for interrupting, Hokage-sama…but…" she trailed off, looking a little sheepish.

"Yes?"

The young woman gave a tiny smirk, "It's just…I'm not an ANBU right now, am I?"

The Third Hokage stopped for a moment to think about it. Technically, she wasn't an ANBU, as he'd taken her mask and evicted her from the barracks. That was about as close to leaving ANBU as a person could get…once you were ANBU you could never truly be a normal shinobi again.

"No, I suppose you aren't at the moment."

"So…technically, I was just a random jonin. Not an 'ANBU on a special mission' or anything of that sort, yes?"

This…could work. But it was also a rather weak defense should Danzo and the others decide to cause a fuss.

But.

"It's not as though I'm going to be actively searching for him," she said with a shrug, "I just ran into the kid the one time. If anyone asks, it was merely a jonin helping a little kid. Nothing more."

And it was true. As much as Arisa felt badly for the kid, she wasn't about to search for him and take him under her wing. It wasn't like she planned to be out in the open for long. As soon as the Hokage decided she was done being on leave, she'd be back behind her mask.

Hiruzen nodded slowly, "Thank you, Arisa. That was all I needed to speak to you about."

At the dismissal, Arisa moved to leave the room, but stopped in the doorway. Pale blue eyes looked over her shoulder, wide and curious.

"Hokage-sama?"

"Yes?"

"When…do…when do you think I'll be back on real duty?"

"That has yet to be determined."

"But…"

"Arisa."

She sighed, nodded, and left the office.

* * *

She was being followed.

Her skin was crawling at the feeling of eyes watching her every move. Paranoia whispered in her ears, telling her it was one of the empty shells Danzo called shinobi. She'd spoken to the boy and drawn _his_ attention- Danzo's people were always watching Naruto. It was one of the many, many reasons why Hiruzen carefully selected the ANBU watching over him.

She would have to stay in public sight then. Maybe in shinobi hangouts- it would mean dealing with people but-

Arisa stopped walking, ignoring the annoyed looks people threw her as they swerved to avoid walking into her on the street. The feeling of being watched continued, but she took a moment to carefully examine the feeling. It wasn't actually as bad as she expected. It didn't feel like the uncomfortable gaze of a predator waiting to strike. It felt…curious.

Potentially not a threat. _Probably not a threat?_

Will still regard as low-class threat.

She shook her head and continued walking, making her way towards the 'shinobi district' as it was called. It was where ninjas went to buy clothing, weapons, rations, and medical supplies. It was also where cafes and restaurants designed for shinobi comfort were located. It was the place ninjas could relax and socialize.

And get completely and utterly drunk. You know. If you're into that sort of thing.

Weaving in and out of the streets and alleys, flitting over rooftops and darting in and out of stores, Arisa eventually lost the feeling of being watched. She breathed a sigh of relief and wandered around the ninja shopping district to waste sometime before she headed back home.

She'd been feeling somewhat naked lately- the loss of her Mask and consequently her armour and sword left her feeling completely unprotected. She'd gotten into the habit of wearing the standard jonin uniform, but it wasn't the same. Since she was in the area, she had might as well find a new sword and armour, right?

She found a store she remembered from years ago and decided to take a look at what they had in stock.

Perusing the rows of clothing, she spotted something that made her want to grin.

Her entire career, Arisa had favored white clothing. It had been a dare from another child in her academy class, who thought that shinobi should only wear dark, muted colours. Of course, she'd hated his guts back then and took it upon herself to start wearing the exact opposite. Pure, snow whites…and, on occasion, bright sky blues.

She was of the opinion that a shinobi should be able to wear anything and still be sneaky… _if_ they were good enough.

And Arisa was more than good enough. She was so good, that she rarely even got blood stains on her clothes.

It used to drive her mother mad, since the older woman couldn't go a day without spilling something-

She'd worn white through the academy, her genin, chunin, and jonin days. And when she joined ANBU? Their uniforms already had white in them. It'd been perfect.

Unfortunately, during her time in ANBU, Arisa had grown, and no longer fit the majority of the clothing she'd left in the house. So. Here she was staring at a white, long sleeved coat with an attached hood. The sleeves would cover her tattoo, and the fabric was much sturdier than she'd expected from its appearance. As she felt the material, she could feel thin strands of wire crisscrossing throughout it, adding an extra layer of protection to it. It was also incredibly light as well, so she wouldn't overheat on humid days.

If she bought a pair of white pants…and she'd need a tank top to go on underneath-

There! She quickly spotted a white pair of the standard shinobi pants. Internally she'd always been sort of surprised that they even made them in white…seeing as fighting usually lead to an awful lot of soot, blood and mud being thrown around.

After a couple more minutes of searching, she found a sky blue top. The sleeves were fishnet up until the shoulders, where the top turned into solid fabric.

Happy to have found what she wanted, she bought four of each. Including a couple pairs of white shinobi sandals she'd spotted in the clearance rack.

The man at the register gave her an odd look as he took in her outfit. He looked as though he was seriously questioning her judgment. Some people had no faith these days. She'd show them.

The Hokage said she would be back on jonin duty in a month's time…so that meant she had a month to break in her new shoes and get people reacquainted with the image of a ninja dressed in pure white clothing.

She stepped out of the store and back onto the street, intending to return home, as she didn't yet feel like finding a new weapon just yet. Unfortunately, as she turned a corner near the edge of 'shinobi town', she felt the skin crawling sensation of being watched.

Pale eyes narrowed in annoyance, her eyes scanned her surroundings once again-

"You're kidding me right?"

But no. No one was kidding her.

There, across the street, a little head of blond hair and wide blue eyes peeked out of an alleyway, watching her intently.

Naruto.

The instant she laid eyes on the four year old, who was trying quite hard to be stealthy, Arisa felt like an idiot. How had she not noticed the chakra? She was no sensor, but there was no way in hell someone could miss the kid's chakra- the _civies_ could feel it.

And somehow…she'd been so worried about Danzo's people watching her that she hadn't stopped to notice the _mass_ of chakra that was the Uzumaki kid?

It was embarrassing.

At least it answered the question of whether the watcher was a threat or not.

Now for the _real_ question. Why the hell was he following her around?

It wasn't like she could go up and ask him why, since she wasn't supposed to approach the kid. Once was enough to get called to the Old Man's office like a scolded child...If she spoke to the kid literally hours after the talk they had?

Not a good idea.

Arisa sighed, then gave a firm shake of her head at the little boy. She let her face fall into the familiar 'default ANBU' expression. After spending enough time wearing a Mask…you kinda…stopped bothering to make expressions with your face. It was just…pointless. No one could see your face.

She knew the exact moment he noticed her expression. His eyes locked with hers for a brief second before they fell away. The curious look on his face fell away, leaving him looking at her like the lonely little boy he was.

Something clenched uncomfortably in her chest before she tore her eyes away from him and continued on her way home.

The boy didn't follow.

* * *

Within hours she'd cleaned up the house completely. Solid clones were a gift. All the remaining furniture was free of the sheets used to cover them. She'd repainted her bedroom and a few of the others. She'd moved furniture and made an inventory of things she'd need to buy if she was expected to live there.

The entire house was (or was going to be) as close to perfect as Arisa cared to bother.

All of it.

Except for one room.

It sat directly across the hall from her bedroom. Door unopened in the last four years- since the night of the Kyuubi attack.

She hadn't even covered the furniture in there like she had the rest of the house. She'd left everything in there to face with time and play host to a thick layer of dust.

The woman knew she was being a coward. It was just a room. Nothing to be so worried about. Logically, she knew she should clean it out. The sooner it was cleaned out, the sooner she could detach all memories from the room.

As it was, every time she even looked at the closed door, her gut curled uncomfortably and her head throbbed. Eyes burned. Heart clenched.

And that was just from looking at it. When she actually worked up the courage to touch the door-

 _There's fire and screaming and death everywhere. Arisa knew she wasn't supposed to be here. She should be with the rest for the 'children' her age. She can't help herself. She couldn't just leave her mother out there._

 _Her mother's trapped._

 _Arisa's lungs heavy, trying to regain the wind that was knocked out of her. The shinobi carrying her away doesn't pause for a second, ignoring the girl and her wheezing pleas._

 _As he takes the winded teen away, she locks eyes with her mother. Her mother's chest is completely crushed- Arisa isn't sure how her mother is still alive, save for sheer stubbornness- and the woman is desperately mouthing something over and over._

 _The fourteen year old knows exactly what she's saying._

 ** _"Cut her out."_**

Arisa's hand jerked away from the door, like she'd been burnt.

She knew there was nothing to fear. Just a memory. But that didn't make it any easier. Didn't make it possible for her to do it.

At the end of the day, Arisa decided she was done redecorating for the day. She'd get back to that room later.

Instead?

Instead she was just going to get nice and wasted. Like always.

* * *

Arisa stumbled out of the bar. It was her fifth one tonight, and likely the last. She'd been doing this for three days now, but her body was pretty much on the verge of collapsing on her now. She knew she had to go 'home' and sleep for at least 18 hours, then eat enough food to make up for the three days of peanuts and alcohol she'd forced her body to endure.

Pale eyes flickered around the street, taking stock of everything around her. A slow trickle of chakra made its way into her bloodstream, burning away the alcohol she'd partaken in. A group of men gathered in a doorway across the street. Something small- a dog maybe?- darted into an alleyway in the direction she'd be heading…Too dark to make out…vision slightly blurry from the booze still burning away. Boisterous laughter from the bar behind her.

As she walked down the dark street, she felt eyes on her back, making her skin crawl. It's not the same as earlier that week. This is far, far worse.

She could practically feel the intentions of the men gathered in that doorway. They'd been hunting.

She made sure to pretend to stumble as she moved.

Wasn't it disgusting, that in a village such as Konoha…with all its shinobi and Military Police, they still had scum like this wandering around? Had they done this before? Judging by the way they moved as quietly as civies were capable of…yes.

Something curled in Arisa's gut. She hated people like them.

The best part of all though? They were trying to hunt _her_. Wasn't that adorable?

Arisa's entire career seemed to revolve around people underestimating her.

She'd become a chunin at eleven because her opponents thought her too young to be a threat- despite the existence of Hatake Kakashi only a few months older than her and already a jonin at twelve. Despite the fact that it was war-time, and Konoha wasn't the type of village to use incompetent children as cannon fodder…any child Konoha sent out was more than just a mere child.

She'd become a jonin at thirteen because the enemy thought she was just a genin- and a weak one at that. They continued to believe it up until her blade was slashing through their throats, cutting off their laughter.

Hell. Even as an ANBU she was underestimated…because of her mask. A cute little squirrel. What harm could a small woodland creature do, right? Never mind that some squirrels enjoyed eating other animals. Or that squirrels could carry deadly diseases like any other rodent. The fact that people still underestimated an ANBU just because their mask had little buck teeth and tiny ears was nearly painful. And hilarious.

Right now? Right now, five civies were underestimating a 'drunk' woman stumbling down the street at three in the morning.

Making a show of it, Arisa suddenly clutched at her stomach and stumbled wildly towards the alleyway closest to her, pretending to be sick. It wasn't like there had been a lot in her stomach anyways. Honestly the mess she'd made on the ground pretty much equated to alcoholic peanut butter. If there was such a thing.

She stayed leaning against the wall, and listened as the group made their way towards the mouth of the alley. Their 'quiet' footsteps were louder than thunder in her ears. Any shinobi would scoff at their stealth.

"Welllllllll, welllll, boys, looky what we got ourselves here!" Dingus said.

"Looks like a lady in need of some…assistance." Dumbnuts joined in.

"Hey honey, if we assist you…will you assist us?" Dimwit snickered at his own 'wise crack' and his friends joined in, hooting and a howling like the braying asses they were.

Arisa pretended not to understand them, "Wha- Wha' you sayin'? Don't need no help…'M fine!"

She pushed off the wall and staggered towards them, like she intended to stumble right on past them. The last two men, Doofus and Doorknob, lost their patience and lunged forward to grab Arisa.

Doofus reached out to grab Arisa's left wrist, not noticing the way she had planted her feet and was ready to use his hold against him. Her right hand balled into a fist as she

Before he could make contact, all six people in the altercation were surprised as a small form tackled Doofus. The man was bashed in the knees, making him stumble into Doorknob. Both men ended up sprawled on the ground, confused as to how they'd ended up there.

The small attacker remained on his feet and quickly planted himself in front of Arisa, as though to stop further attacks from the men.

"Leave her alone!"

* * *

 _ **And there we have it! Chapter three, my darling readers~ I almost made this chapter super long... then remembered I was trying not to do that with this fic...**_

 ** _Looks like Arisa's earned herself a little stalker/minion! And she's not even been off duty for a week and she's already been called to the princip- I mean the Hokage's office. And w_** ** _e'll have to wait and see how the situation with Dingus, Doofus, Dimwit, Dumbnuts and Doorknob goes next chapter!_**

 **Mother's Mask _now has 12 Reviews, 38 Favourites and 78 Followers!_**

 ** _Big thanks to_ barrrbs, Copper001, Northchild, thor94, Siera-Knightwalker, Alyce DreamEater, _and_ ramielz _for reviewing!_**


	4. Fighting

It took all of a millisecond for Arisa to realize just what had happened.

When she'd exited the bar, she'd noticed something small make its way into an alley. It hadn't seemed important to her less-than-sober-self, and she'd just assumed it was a dog. She'd led her 'attackers' into the same alleyway. The small form was not a dog. It was a boy. A small, blond boy with familiar markings-

How the hell had she not realized he was there? How had she failed to notice the massive ball of chakra that was Uzumaki Naruto?! _Again?_

…Maybe it was because she'd been around the kid for four years, and sorta learned to ignore his chakra?

Like one eventually stops noticing the taste of water after they've drank it long enough, or the smell of cigarette smoke in their childhood home. It's there, you've just experienced so much it becomes easy to ignore if you don't pay attention.

And at the end of the millisecond, Arisa concluded that the five men were now threats to Uzumaki Naruto. From where she stood (behind the four-year-old's 'protective' stance), Arisa could see the rage blooming on the five faces.

Arisa may not have been Risu, but that didn't mean that the four years Risu spent taking out people who were threats to Naruto hadn't programmed into her. Just because she didn't have her Mask on, it didn't mean she could just…stop being what she was when she'd worn it Mask.

She lunged forward, quickly scooping Naruto up with one arm. At the same time, her other hand shot out and she grabbed Doorknob (who had climbed out from under Doofus and was trying to stand up) by his collar. Making sure to hold back so she didn't kill him, the woman used her grip to throw the man at his friends, knocking Dingus, Dumbnuts and Dimwit over.

Naruto's arms wrapped around her neck. Using the arm she'd grabbed him with, she pushed him around so he was on her back. The little boy held on tighter with his arms and legs, knowing what she wanted him to do. It wasn't the first time an adult had to fight holding him…but they usually wore masks.

With both her arms free, Arisa had a much easier time dealing with the five men.

Breezing past Doofus, her arm shot out to hit the pressure point on his neck. Before he'd even hit the ground, she'd moved on to the other four. Doorknob hadn't moved since she'd thrown him- Arisa had heard his head hit the pavement. He was still breathing, but she was quite sure he'd lost a few more brain cells than he had to offer.

Dingus was up on his feet, as were Dimwit and Dumbnuts. Dimwit was actually showing some form of basic intelligence and was trying to make a run for it.

Dumbnuts was being stupider than the rest and charging at her.

In her eyes, the civilian man was slow. Like molasses in the winter. She easily batted his swinging fist to the side, before burying her own fist in his gut. He doubled over and began to heave. He dropped completely as her hand once again found a pressure point.

Careful not to jostle Naruto too badly, she darted forward once again. This time, she took Dingus by his hair, fingers weaving into the strands. Her momentum continued long enough to smack his head against the wall behind him. He dropped like the other two.

Dimwit had made it out of the alley but made it no further than a couple steps before he was knocked out by a Masked shinobi.

There was a pause as Arisa and the ANBU stared at one another. Arisa was aware of the little boy still clinging to her back. She knew that the ANBU probably wanted to take the boy away now. Tuck him 'safely' away in the orphanage.

But.

With a slight smirk, she turned away from the ANBU. Kneeling, she let the little boy slip off her back. When Naruto's feet were safely planted on the ground, she gently placed her hands on his shoulders and looked him over. The fight had been brief, and none of the men had managed to hit her, or the boy for that matter…save for when he had tackled one of them.

"That was sooo cool!" He loudly declared, grinning up at her, "You were all like 'zoom!' and then 'whack' and they all just fell down! Awesome!"

She pulled her lips into an awkward smile, "Thanks kid…Now, you aren't hurt anywhere or anything, right?"

Naruto's eyes widened. Adults never asked him if he was okay- Well. Most of the time the only adults he talks to are either the ones hurting him, or the Masked guys that keep an eye on him. Only, they don't really answer when Naruto talks to them.

He couldn't help but stutter as he mumbled a reply, "N-no…I'm okay."

Arisa ruffled his hair, and her grin became a little more normal, "Good. I can't have you getting hurt fighting people in alleyways- What are you even doing here anyways?"

The little boy suddenly looked anywhere but at her, "Um…well…I was taking a walk and I got lost?"

She scoffed, "Really now...and you didn't ask one of your guards to take you back to the orphanage."

Naruto looked down, staring at his feet. He'd been caught, and he knew there wasn't much point in trying to convince her otherwise.

"I thought you understood I didn't want you following me?"

"I know…but you were so nice to me!"

Arisa blinked, and let out a heavy sigh, "You know, I got in trouble with your Jiji for talking to you the other day."

"What?! Why?"

"Because some mean people saw us getting along, and didn't want that…so they told the Hokage I was gonna try and kidnap you," she told the boy, lying through her teeth.

"But you were just being nice!"

"I know that, and you know that…and so does the Hokage and Inu-chan over there…but you following me around in dark alleyways at night isn't gonna help, you know."

The little boy blinked, and realized what she was suggesting. Arisa was saying this looked like one of those 'stranger danger' moments Jiji was always telling him about.

When Arisa saw the understanding bloom across his face, she nodded once firmly, before she continued on, "Now…what the heck were you thinking?!"

The boy's eyes widened at the rise in volume, "Eh!?"

"What were you thinking? Kid, you could have gotten hurt! Five grown men!"

"B-But they were gonna hurt you!"

"Naruto, kid…do you really think I'd have gone down a dead-end alleyway with them following me if I couldn't take them?"

From the look on his face, it was pretty clear that the boy hadn't thought she could take them at all.

Slightly put out that even a four year old had underestimated her, she made sure to keep smiling, even though her cheek was beginning to twitch something fierce, "I'll share a secret with you."

Bright blue eyes widened and stared up at her. She leaned in, and he copied her so she could whisper it to him. Pale eyes glanced over the little boy's head to look at the ANBU. Inu-chan was staring directly at her.

Arisa almost wanted to scoff. Did Inu-chan think she was going to tell the boy something classified? There was really no need to look so strict.

"See…I'm actually a very, very strong ninja."

"What?"

"Yup. In fact, I've been a jonin for four years now!"

"A jonin?!"

Arisa nodded her head, "Yup yup."

"Woah…four years?"

"Yup!"

"I'm four…"

Arisa chuckled, but internally something in her heart gave a painful twinge at the reminder of that night, "I know."

"Can you teach me how to be a ninja?!"

The laughter died from Arisa's face, "No…I don't think I can, Naruto. Falls under the same category as me and you hanging out in alleyways."

Inu-chan's foot scuffled noisily on the pavement as he took a step forward. Wordlessly, he was telling Arisa that her time with Naruto was up, and he had to take the boy 'home'.

"Now then. It looks like Inu-chan has to get back to work, and that means taking you back to the orphanage tonight."

"B-but!"

"Hush. I'm sure we'll see each other again sooner or later."

"Like when it's your turn to sit in the tree?"

Both Arisa and Inu-chan froze for a millisecond, before Arisa's expression morphed into one of 'genuine' confusion, "Hm? What are you talking about?"

"Well…Inu an' a bunch of others are always sittin' in trees watchin' me and stuff. Y'know, stopping mean people from attackin' me and stuff? Well…you kinda remind me of one of them!"

"I'm afraid you're mistaken, little buddy. Inu-chan and the others are all a special kind of ninja…I'm not one of them," Arisa said, giving a carefree shrug, "Your jiji has other plans for me."

' _Like my 'retirement' from ANBU._ '

"Oh. That's too bad! You remind me of the Squirrel-mom-lady!"

"Um…what?"

Naruto gave Arisa a beaming grin, "Mhmm! She's the nicest outta all of them! Sometimes when I was really little, an' I couldn't sleep, she'd stand in my room and hum pretty songs 'til I fell asleep! An' sometimes she gives me snacks. An' then there's all the times she came and beat up people who're botherin' me! The other kids're always talkin' 'bout how their moms do those kinda things- well their moms don't beat up people usually- so I thought maybe she was _my_ mom!"

The brunette woman awkwardly raised her eyes to stare into the empty holes of Inu-chan's Mask. She could feel the other shinobi's gaze, heavy and somewhat-judgmental.

"Well Naruto, it sounds like she's a very nice woman. I'm very happy you think she and I are similar… Now. I think it's time you went to bed, and I have to take these bad guys away."

She gestured to the five unconscious men around them, before ruffling Naruto's hair and gently pushing him towards Inu-chan.

The ANBU picked the boy up and locked eyes with Arisa once again. Silently, the pair shared a brief conversation, mostly through minute shifts in body language, and the occasional hand sign.

 _Squirrel-mom-lady, eh?_

 _I didn't think he'd notice if I left some things for him from time to time. You know I'm not the only one._

 _And the lullabies?_

 _Humming doesn't count as talking, so in no way did I broke that rule…?_

 _Lullabies?_

 _I couldn't just let him lay there awake…kids need adults to take care of them when they have nightmares._

 _...The boy's comments are in no way necessary to this evening's report…as they are about past events unrelated to this one._

 _Aw, thanks Inu-chan! I knew you loved me!_

 _…On second thought I'll be alerting the Hokage._

With that 'said', the ANBU and his charge vanished, leaving Arisa to take care of the attackers. She sighed, raising her hands to create a couple shadow clones to help her.

"I'm REALLY hoping he was joking about telling the old geezer…"

One of the clones heaved an unconscious man onto her shoulder, "You know he wasn't."

"Inu-chan's a bit of a hardass," the second clone agreed, already lifting a second man, so that she carried a man on each shoulder.

"But that ass though…" The first clone sighed, making both Arisa and the second clone laugh.

* * *

There was a slow, hesitant knock on her front door, dragging her attention away from the book she was trying to 'get into'. 200 pages in and they were finally leaving their home village. Ugh.

Stretching as she set the book down, she tried to peak out the window at who was there, but they were standing too close to her door for her to catch a good glimpse.

When she opened the door, she was amused to see an embarrassed-looking chunin waiting for her.

"Good morning, Iruka-kun! It's nice to see you again." She smiled cheerfully at the boy, "I was worried I had scared you off, the way you ran away last time."

The younger shinobi's cheeks darkened, "A-Ah…good morning Tsutsuji-san…it's nice to see you again too. I- uh- sorry about last time? I had a lot to do…?"

The eighteen-year-old nodded understandingly, "Of course! You chunin are always being run ragged by the Hokage! The way you guys get sent running across the village, back and forth. I'm sure I wasn't the only one you had to come visit that day."

Something about what she'd said seemed to relax the other teen, and he gave her a slight smile of his own.

At least he wasn't running away from her now. And he was sort of cute when he smiled…

"Now, Iruka-kun…I imagine you're here because I've been summoned to the Hokage's office again?"

"Looks like it. This is the second time in a week, isn't it, Tsutsuji-san?" Iruka asked the older teen, "I'm starting to think you're a trouble maker!"

She pouted, "Come on Iruka-kun! You don't have to call me 'Tsutsuji'...we get along alright, don't we? Besides…it makes me feel old! We're practically classmates- well not really 'cause we were in different grades and I wasn't there very long in the first place, but you get me, right Iruka-kun?"

"I- Um… Alright…Arisa-san…?"

Arisa let out a heavy sigh, but shrugged her shoulders, deciding it was good enough. At least he wasn't calling her Tsustuji anymore. If her name hadn't matched her surname, it would have been fine…but with a name that was literally 'Azalea Azalea'…It was a bit too much.

Better to just forget one of those names existed, lest it become redundant, yes?

"Well, Iruka-kun…we might as well start heading to the Tower now- unless you have more stops to make?"

"Sure. You were the last on the list."

She couldn't help herself, she just had to do it. Smiling, she practically purred to the "Saving the best for last, were you?"

In reality, she was sure he was just trying to avoid seeing her for as long as possible…but a girl can dream.

The younger teen's face ignited into that flustered blush that had amused her earlier in the week. She refrained from cackling this time, and instead started walking. Iruka followed a moment later. Once he had calmed down, the boy seemed almost amused by the situation.

It was nice to know that she could still amuse people. Living in the ANBU HQ, it had been much harder to pry a laugh out from under her squad.

* * *

"Ah, good morning Arisa! Have you been enjoying your time off?" The Hokage greeted, not looking up from the paperwork placed upon his desk.

"Yes, Hokage-sama. It's been very…sedate."

Sarutobi looked up from his paperwork and lifted an eyebrow, "Now, now. That's not what I've heard. I heard you had a rather eventful night yesterday. You managed to capture several dangerous individuals that the Military Police have been trying to capture for weeks now."

The eighteen-year-old shifted, "I did."

"And I'm sure we don't have to worry about you turning into a vigilante, will we?"

"Um…what?"

"Well, given that you have been put on leave, and you seem to be having some troubles settling back into civilian life… it would not be that surprising if one in your situation turned to vigilantism. You've been put on leave, and several days later show up at the Military Police station with five men in your custody."

At that, Arisa's expression changed to one of indignation. She was most definitely not about to become a vigilante of all things! While she might not always be respectful of her superior officers, and she might have a tendency to bend the rules, particularly when they were stupid rules pertaining to the small child she'd be told to protect for the last four years, but that by no means meant she was about to go breaking the law, just so she could get her adrenalin going.

The Hokage chuckled at the expression on her face, "As I said, I'm sure you won't resort to such a thing… as it stands, there was also a witness willing to vouch for you. He witnessed the men attack you in the alley. The conflict that followed was self-defense- as well as defending a child, given Naruto's…surprise appearance."

Again, she shifted awkwardly, "I assume Inu-chan told you about what Risu might have done?"

"Yes, _Inu-chan_ informed me last night after he returned Naruto to the orphanage. Would you mind elaborating for me what exactly Risu did?"

The woman couldn't help but laugh upon hearing the Hokage use the name 'Inu-chan' for her comrade. She was sure some of the ANBU hidden in the room would agree that it was a hilarious thought, given how much of a badass Inu was.

After a moment, however, she straightened up and began to explain herself (well technically, all the documentation in the village said that Arisa and Risu were not the same person.)

"Prior to the night of the Kyuubi attack, I had spent some time reading up on childhood development and what babies and small children need to be happy and healthy, given that-" her voice paused for a moment, and pale blue eyes stared off into the distance as memories rose up.

This time, it was the Hokage who shifted. It had never really occurred to him that Arisa should have been sent to be evaluated after the attack. She had been before, and passed with flying colours, but a great deal had changed on the night of the attack. Arisa, having not received any help or spoken to anyone of what happened that night, had not been able to heal afterwards.

He had likely only made things worse, putting her on Naruto's guard rotation. He had thought that it would help ease the pain, but with how she had thrown herself into the duty…

"I am sorry for your loss, Arisa."

She jerked from her thoughts and forced a smile, "I- Thank you Hokage-sama… Anyways, since I- _Risu_ had this information, they knew that the conditions that Naruto grew up in would be detrimental to his health- deadly even- if Risu didn't intervene. Babies need a certain amount of care, and it's safe to say that he wasn't receiving nearly enough. Risu would, when necessary, go beyond what was outlined in their orders. If his diaper needed changing, and none of the orphanage staff felt the need to do their job, Risu would do it instead. If he was hungry, Risu would feed him. Burp him, _bathe him-_ Hokage-sama, the people left in charge of Naruto's care were- Risu filed multiple complaints and attempted include observations about the boy's care in their reports, but nothing ever came of it."

Hiruzen frowned. He did not remember any such information in the reports. Somehow, that didn't surprise him though.

"And that's just the basic care- there were times where Risu would have to hold the child, simply for the human contact- infants need to be held. And spoken too- Risu was specifically told _not_ to speak to him, so they resorted to humming instead, which wasn't really much, but it seemed better than just leaving the kid with nothing?" Arisa continued, starting to get on a roll the more she spoke of what Risu had done to make sure Naruto had some sort of support, "When he got older, Risu made sure the boy got enough to eat when the orphanage staff under fed him, and they were there when the boy woke up in the night from bad dreams."

"I see…Is there anything else that Risu has done that I should know about?"

Arisa paused for a moment, head tilting slightly as she delved through her memories of the last four years. There didn't seem to be anything too important that she had left out. Just general caring-for-a-baby-on-the-sly stuff.

"No sir, I believe that's all?"

"And…is there anything you'd like to say on Risu's behalf?"

The teen took a calming breath, "Risu understands that their actions, while technically not against orders, were done without the knowledge of their comrades and superiors. While Risu is not sorry for what they've done, given that their actions were done to protect their 'objective'. They are of the firm belief that had they not 'bent the rules' as they had, Naruto likely would have suffered far worse neglect. As such Risu will not be apologizing for their actions but will gladly take any form of punishment that you deem fit, Hokage-sama."

The old man steepled his fingers, taking a moment to mull over what 'Risu' had said.

It wasn't like he could let this go unpunished, even if Risu hadn't _actually_ disobeyed orders. If he let them get away with it, some of the others might try the same. And while he appreciated that his shinobi had feelings, morals and the ability to make their own decisions…those weren't always qualities one wanted in an ANBU Operative. That was not to say he was going to put them through the sort of training Danzo put those children through before Hiruzen had put a stop to Root (although he had heard whispers that his 'old friend' was still up to his games). But all the same he **was** going to have to punish her somehow.

And maybe… The way things had gone for her so far since she began her time off… An idea came to the old man, one he was sure would only need a little meddling to come to fruition.

"Alright then," the Hokage gave a tired sigh, before speaking in a bored tome, "Given that Risu went through with their actions, and feels no remorse for their disregard for their orders, which easily could have been arranged had they spoken to me in person, I'm afraid I will have to suspend Operative Risu for no less than…"

Dread pooled in Arisa's stomach. This would not be good.

"One year's time."

Silence fell over the room as pale blue eyes stared at him, wide with horror. He couldn't be serious, right? This had to be a joke- revenge for her sticking her tongue out at him, and terrorizing Inu-chan and Iruka-kun and all the other things she did before her time in ANBU.

But…a one-year suspension from ANBU meant she'd be stuck making public appearances for an entire year. She wouldn't get any assassination missions. No espionage and no sabotage.

And no guarding Naruto.

For 365 days.

"I- Hokage-sama-"

"And I do not simply mean ANBU duties. Operative Risu is suspended from _all_ shinobi duties, unless a village-wide alert is released, or they are otherwise ordered by myself. Is that understood?"

"Please you can't-"

"Is that understood?"

"I-" she stopped herself before she could let loose the protests building inside her. There was no point arguing it. She'd already said she would take any punishment he gave her. Better to just…accept it now, and then get nice and drunk once he let her leave. "Yes sir."

There is a moment of silence. Arisa stood there, waiting for the old man to dismiss her so she could make her way to the nearest bar, but the Third Hokage just stared at her for a long while as he smoked from his ever-present pipe.

Finally, the old man moved the pipe away from his mouth and gave Arisa an almost mischievous smile, "You know, since 'Risu' is suspended, they can hardly be considered a shinobi…particularly a shinobi under my command, seeing as you aren't going to be receiving many commands from me in the next year."

"So?"

"Well it just occurred to me that there really shouldn't be any issue with you speaking to the boy in public, should he approach you again."

That was most definitely something to think about.

"And as you will be suspended for the following year, I think we can safely say you will not be needed that leave period anymore. I always could have added that on top of the suspension."

"No!" Arisa exclaimed, taking an unconscious step forward, "That's fine! One year is _definitely_ enough time not working! Pllleeeeeaaaassse!"

The old man chuckled at the panicked look, "Alright, alright. That's all for today, Arisa. You're free to leave."

She didn't need to be told twice.

* * *

 _ **Hello everyone! Been a while...i sorta dropped off the face of the planet, but I'm back! Ish. Got a new job and its kinda unpredictable what days I'm working, and I have to sleep at a friends house a lot of the time because its a hassle getting rides in- so I haven't spent all that much time with my laptop lately. Hopefully I'll update this sooner next time but... the universe is mean.**_

 **Mother's Mask _now has 20 Reviews, 64 Favourites, and 133 Followers!_**

 _ **Big thanks goes out to**_ **Amegakure no Kunoichi, XWingedWolfX, Guest, sparrowhawk13, GalliumStoat, barrrbs, HavenHearts, _and_ Sweet-Strawberry-09 _for reviewing!_**


	5. Speaking

The moment the door swung shut behind her, Arisa let all expression on her face die. Inside, anger bubbled furiously in her gut. She needed to get out of here. Go…home…and find some way to vent. Before she did something stupid.

She speed-walked out of the building and was partially down the street when she nearly ran into Hatake Kakashi. At the last second, her attention snapped back to her surroundings, and she managed to pivot around him. Her eyes flickered up to his face for a brief second before she looked down and kept walking, desperate to get far away from the Hokage building as quickly as possible.

This was, of course, extremely out of character for her. Or at least to Kakashi it was. He was rather used to every interaction with Ris- Arisa- to end in her making some sort of bad innuendo or poorly performed pick-up line. It was as much a part of her image as his Icha Icha was to him. He looked up from his book, towards the Hokage building, and then down the street where Arisa was rapidly walking away, and decided he had plenty of time to find out what was wrong with her.

It didn't take long for him to catch up with her, but it was still several moments before Arisa realized that Kakashi had fallen into step with her. He was once more buried in the pages of his book, but years working alongside him told her he was paying more attention than it seemed. It was in the slight tilt of his head and the way he held his shoulders.

The anger she had been fighting gave way to confusion. Why was he following her? He had been walking in the opposite direction, so it wasn't like he happened to be going this way and just decided to walk with her. Outside of ANBU, Arisa had never really interacted with him either. They were from completely different circles. Wouldn't it look suspicious for them to be together in public?

Her pace slowed into more of a meander, and rather than making a b-line for her home, she just let her feet go on autopilot.

With Arisa now at a more relaxed pace, and seeing as she was rather distracted, Kakashi decided to gently steer her away from the more public part of Konoha and towards the Memorial Stone. No one would be there this time of day, so it would be easier to talk without someone overhearing.

He knew something had happened in the Hokage's office- and it was probably his fault. He had mentioned what Naruto had said in his report for the night, and the Third had said he would speak to Arisa about it.

When the pair reached the Memorial Stone, Arisa wasted no time and plopped down on the ground and stared at the names carked into it. She could spot some of her old classmates…her genin teammates. So many people she'd grown up with. But no one she was particularly attached to. She'd been lucky- in a way. She'd never gotten close enough to any of them for their death's to really impact her. She had somehow avoided the experience of crippling loss…up until her family died.

Their names weren't on the Stone, however.

Her father had fallen down a flight of steps. He died, and he was a loyal Konoha shinobi…but he had not died on the field. Not _in action_. And so, his death would never be recognized on the Memorial Stone.

Her mother had been a loyal kunoichi of Konoha…but she, like many others, died during the kyuubi attack. Had she been on active duty, then perhaps her name would have been added to the Stone…but her mother had been off on leave at the time, and hadn't been physically able to carry out her duties as a ninja.

Silence hung in the air between the two, each contemplating the names carved before them.

She wasn't sure what compelled her to break the silence. Had she been wearing her Mask, it was likely she would have found comfort in the lack of conversation. But right now?

Well.

She really just needed to run her mouth. Might as well practice being social again, since she'd have to deal with civilian life for the next year, right? Plus it was his fault she was in trouble anyways. If Inu-chan hadn't tattled…

"My parents were both shinobi, you know?"

Kakashi's eyes moved away from Rin's name and focused on Arisa, who continued to look over the names on the Stone.

"But they both…they both died off the field. Mum…mum was on leave at the time, and dad wasn't on a mission when he had his accident…They were good shinobi…but their names aren't here."

He didn't say anything, just tilted his head slightly as he wondered where she was going with this.

"And now I find myself wondering if something will happen to me, and my name won't be carved here either. I'll just…cease to exist when no one remembers me anymore."

His brow furrowed. He hadn't anticipated her monologue to take this sort of turn, "Why are you worried about this?"

"I've been suspended."

Kakashi winced.

"For a year."

The wince intensified.

"A lot can happen in a year," she said, shrugging slightly, "My entire life changed in a year. Who's to say I won't croak in the next twelve months?"

"You really think something could happen?"

Arisa paused, and turned her gaze towards him. Pale blue eyes bored into his, silently debating what she should tell him. On one hand, Arisa didn't really know Kakashi. On the other hand, Risu trusted Inu-chan with their life. But was that a good thing? The words she wanted to say would likely make the man panic, internally at least.

At the last second, the brunette reconsidered and gave the man a crooked grin, "Now now, Kakashi-san…we're shinobi. I'm sure by now you know to expect the unexpected. As unlikely as it seems, this village is just as dangerous as any other."

He must have seen something mischievous in her expression, because his visible eye narrowed, "…You're not going to start causing trouble, are you?"

This time, her smile really was mischievous, "Wellllll…I'll try not to…but trouble can be _so_ much fun."

Kakashi rolled his eyes, sensing that she was either moving past what was bothering her, or compartmentalizing because she wasn't willing to tell him what exactly bothering her. He hoped it was the first, but knew it was probably the second. He'd always been a bit jealous of how easily Arisa could slip on a Mask, as horrible as that sounded. The first day she joined ANBU she had already completely changed into Risu. It was a good thing Danzo had always overlooked her and had never recruited her into Root.

They fell into another silence, sitting in front of the Memorial Stone for another few minutes before Arisa stood up, "Well, Kakashi-san…I think I've taken up enough of your time. I'm sure you're suitably late to your appointment with the Third."

He glanced up at the sun and nodded. He had already been late before they ran into each other. By now it looked like he was late by three hours and figured the Hokage would be expecting him by now.

"Arisa."

"See ya around, Kakashi-san. Lemme know if-"

Mentally, he prepared himself for some sort of outrageous pickup line, or inuendo, or blatant proposition.

"-You ever want to talk or train or something."

Huh.

She must really be feeling off.

* * *

She flopped down on the couch, mentally screaming.

She didn't know if she was angry at herself, the Hokage, or just the universe itself. She couldn't be angry at herself for what she'd done…not really.

If she hadn't done it, who knows what would have happened to the brat? Maybe the others did little things for him from time to time, but not nearly as much as what she'd done.

She couldn't really be mad at the Hokage. She'd bent the rules, and said she'd accept any form of punishment for what she'd done. And he was being lenient, all things considered. He could have been far harsher, given that the matter included Naruto. And he couldn't let her get off free. Everyone in ANBU knew that some of their comrades weren't as loyal to Sarutobi as it was believed, and there were always guards in the Hokage's office…one never knew when one of those guards might be sharing what they'd heard that day. And if word spread that she hadn't been given some sort of punishment for bending the rules…

She settled for blaming the universe. The universe was a bitch.

This was an unholy mess. What was she going to do for an entire year?

Read. There was that, but there was only so much time she could sit on her butt and read. She needed to be _doing_ something. She was still allowed to train, but she knew that if the Hokage got word that she was spending all her time training, he'd probably send someone over to put a stop to that.

She could…drink. That was always 'fun'. But again, someone would stop her eventually.

Arisa knew that the old man wanted her to make friends…but that was so…hard. What did people talk about? She couldn't tell anyone what she'd been up to for the last four years, and anyone that had been her friend before then had already moved on with their lives. Did they really have room for her anymore? She wasn't the same person anymore…never mind the fact that she'd been fourteen back then. She'd 'matured'. Or something.

At least she knew Anko still liked her.

Maybe she could bug Iruka some more too? And would she get in trouble if she tracked down some of her comrades' non-ANBU selves?

Damn she just wanted to see her squad again!

Speaking with Kakashi had been…nice. While she still couldn't blatantly speak about everything (there were rules about discussing ANBU activities when you were off duty, even to other ANBU), she could get away with half-truths and references with him. Their little talk hadn't even been much of a talk. Just her speaking a thought out-loud…and that was enough. Having someone listen.

The woman let out a heavy sigh before getting up and heading for the door once more.

Talking was nice, but what she really needed right now was a drink.

* * *

Chakra thrummed throughout her body as she circulated it through her body, burning away the alcohol. She'd spent a few hours floating in a nice inebriated state, but it was time to stop that. She'd come home from the bar (no one had attacked her this time) and settled in her favourite upstairs hallway to wallow for a little while…and seeing the sun beginning to set, she decided that it was time to start doing something else.

She scrubbed at her face with her hands, taking a deep breath to chase out the last of the buzz.

It was one year. That wasn't really all that long. She could do it. Maybe if she treated it like an undercover mission?

She blinked.

"That could work."

Pointedly, she ignored the way her voice rang through the silent house.

So. What would the mission be…exactly? She was to pretend to be a civilian…or something. She wasn't forbidden to train, so it meant she had to keep herself fit for when she went back on duty. What did the Hokage want from her? He wanted her to develop bonds with the people around her…she could do that. She had even invited Kakashi to hang out…and while he wore a mask, Kakashi wasn't the Mask like Inu-chan was…so he would count if they became friends. Then there was Anko and the others who knew she was 'back'.

Make friends. Don't go on missions. Okay.

But what was she going to do with the rest of her time? Get a part-time job somewhere? Volunteer?

"So…Make friends. Don't go on missions. Get a job."

Speaking of jobs, she needed to check her bank account. She'd been getting a weekly paycheck for the last four years…there should be a fair bit of cash in the bank. Of course, a portion of that went to keeping her house, and she'd spent a rather large bit of money on paint and new clothes. And booze.

It was a start.

"Alright. Get changed…brush my teeth. Go to the bank, check account. Buy interview clothing…start job hunting."

She nodded to herself, happy with this plan of action.

* * *

Arisa stared at the paperwork in front of her for a long moment, before looking up at the teller with wide eyes.

That…was a lot more zeroes than she had expected.

The bank teller looked immensely amused by her reaction and was trying very hard not to laugh at her.

Arisa had been expecting there to be a fair bit of money in her account, given that she'd been working for four years steady on an S-rank mission with no days off and her living expenses were all provided by the ANBU HQ she'd lived in during that time. Aside from paying the bills for her family home and alcohol, she hadn't been spending any of her earnings. S-rank missions payed quite well.

What she had forgotten was that after her father's death, all the money he had from his family went to her mother. After her mother died…all that money went to her.

The teen found herself suddenly very, very well off.

She thanked the teller for his help and left the bank, still somewhat stunned but quickly adapting to the revelation. It changed nothing. She still needed a job. Needed to have _something_ to do.

Pale blue eyes scanned the world around her as she made her way to the nearest clothing store. The streets were as busy as ever as people went about their lives. Men and women rushing to work or going out for lunch. People traversed the markets looking for inspiration for that night's supper. And they were all talking. Chattering away about all manner of nonsensicalities.

The noise still made her miss her quiet room in HQ. The way Risu and their comrades spoke using sign language; too lazy to use their voices.

Shaking her head to chase the whisper of discontent away, she consciously had to remind herself to go to the more 'civilian' shopping district.

Civies were weird about shinobi. They respected them and were grateful for the protection the shinobi in their village offered them, but when they found out at you were a shinobi, they sometimes treated you with more fear than seemed right. Like they thought the shinobi were about to start throwing fire around on a whim.

If she wanted to get a job, it would have to be a civilian job…and that meant disguising herself as a civilian. Not too hard, given she was experienced enough with undercover work. That was one of the things civilian-born shinobi were best at. No distinct clan-bound features like clan markings (Inuzuka and Akimichi for example) or visible Blood Limits (Hyuuga). Arisa was also blessed with a quiet career. Without her Mask, Arisa was a nobody. She wasn't a big name like Kakashi or the Sannin. Not to say she was mediocre in anyway…just that she had always managed to stay under the radar…hidden, like a shinobi is _supposed_ to be.

As she weaved her way through the civilian shopping district, she made sure to keep an eye out for nice clothing for job interviews, as well as keep her senses alert in case a certain someone decided to follow her again. She remembered what the Third had said…that she couldn't get in trouble for talking to the kid if he approached her again, because she wasn't a ninja any more.

She wasn't going to actively search him out, but part of her suspected that the little guy wasn't going to stay away for very long, just because she'd given him a bit of a scolding. She'd watched that kid nearly every day since he was born…she knew just how stubborn the kid was. And if he did happen to be in the same area as her…well…it wouldn't hurt to give the kid some advice every once in a while, right? Or maybe talk to him if he has any problems. Or occasionally invite him to get something to eat, since he likely wasn't getting fed enough at the orphanage. Or help him with his reading because she knew he was having trouble with more complicated words. Or-

By the time she had finished shopping for a day, she had failed to make a dent in her funds, and she hadn't spotted a single trace of the kid's presence nearby.

* * *

It had been over a week since she'd gone shopping for interview clothing. She'd gone out a couple of times to drop off resumes here and there but hadn't heard back from any of the stores and restaurants that she had stopped by. In the meantime, Arisa had picked up knitting in an attempt to fill the void that her career left in her life.

Needless to say, that knitting was an awful replacement for assassination missions- but it was notably better than most D-ranks.

-Also, senbon make great replacements for lost knitting needles.

And knitting needles make great replacements for senbon.

…Arisa might have also thought up at least seven different ways to kill someone with the scarf she was knitting.

Besides the knitting, she'd also bought a birdfeeder and set it up in her backyard. She liked to sit on the back porch and watch the squirrels raid the swinging feeder while the birds sat up in the nearby trees, watching as their free meal was scattered in the grass under the feeder.

Still. Squirrel/birdwatching and knitting were not quite enough to keep her occupied, and she found herself painfully bored.

Her next plan was to try gardening (D-ranks taught you an awful lot about gardening, and she figured she might as well put all that 'training' to good use…and the property could use a bit of sprucing up. Flowers wouldn't hurt…), but that required another shopping trip, and she hadn't really been able to muster the willpower to do that in the last few days. It wasn't avoidable any longer, however, given that she had run out of food, birdseed, books and yarn, and needed to restock.

Deciding that she wanted to feel comfortable, Arisa left the house dressed in her usual clothing, as opposed to the civilian clothing she'd purchased more recently. The thin fabrics and restricting styles always made her feel on edge, so she much preferred her sturdier battle-ready clothing. Plus, she adored her white coat.

There was a shop reasonably close to her home that sold birdseed and gardening equipment. A little further there was a craft supply store she needed to hit up for her yarn, and beyond that was a decent sized grocery store. She'd hit the stores in that order and get home before the ice cream she planned to buy melted.

Plan of attack formulated, and properly outfitted for her mission, the (temporarily off-duty) kunoichi set off to brave the wild streets of Konoha.

* * *

By the time she reached her final stop, Arisa was carrying five bags- three of which were filled with things she hadn't originally planned on purchasing from the craft store- and was wondering if she'd need to make a solid clone to carry some of it after her trip to the grocery store.

Sure enough, it only took her a few minutes to grab everything she needed and then she found herself getting things that she certainly hadn't planned to buy. She knew she didn't need them, but the mint-chocolate chip cookies were calling her. And there were seven different flavours of roasted peanuts that she _needed_ to try.

Eventually, she realized there was not enough room in her basket for anymore impulse purchases, and resigned herself to getting into the long lineup to the single open check-out lane (despite there being two other lanes that no one was manning). She could already see the tail-end of the line from where she stood on the other end of the store. There had to have been over twelve people in the line.

At least the cashier seemed to know who she was doing, and was making swift work of the line- the speed at which she was bagging items was near admirable, considering her civilian status. The girl probably could have had a fair go at being a kunoichi.

It was as Arisa approached the line, she spotted a familiar head of hair like sunlight. She smiled to herself in amusement as the little boy struggled to lift the loaded basket in his arms. After a moment, however, her smile died as she took in the contents of the basket. A small amount of fresh food, an overwhelming amount of instant ramen, a tube of toothpaste, a toothbrush, a bar of soap, a small pack of toilet paper…all of those were things the orphanage as supposed to be providing him. Why was he buying himself food and hygiene products?

Silently, she walked up behind the boy, shifting her own bags and basket to one arm as she wordlessly scooped the basket from his arms. It was a bit of a struggle, although she did her best to hide it, to carry her five bags of stuff as well as both his and her baskets.

"Hey-" Naruto began to protest, annoyance clear in his little voice, but cut himself off when he realized just who had taken his things, "A-Arisa? What're you- I can buy them!"

"I thought I told you that kids shouldn't have to buy things they need?"

"But-"

"Sweetie, this isn't an offer. I'm buying your stuff whether you like it or not."

The pair waited in silence after that.

The cashier greeted them when it was their turn and offered both Arisa and Naruto smiles as she flashed through Arisa's purchases. Within seconds, the transaction was complete, and the pair were stepping out of the store. Arisa's arms were overflowing with bags and the little boy had a confused, lost expression on his face as he trailed after her.

She sat down at the first bench she found and put her stuff down. Now sitting, she was still taller than the little boy, but it was easier to make eye contact when there wasn't such a big distance, "So, kiddo…you gonna explain to me why you're buying food and hygiene products?"

Naruto shifted awkwardly. Honestly, the little boy was a bit confused why she was talking to him. Hadn't she said that she got in trouble for talking to him? But now she was buying his stuff again and talking to him in the middle of the street.

But he also didn't want to answer her question. Arisa was really nice, and she got upset when she found out the orphanage wasn't replacing his old clothes- how was she gonna react if he told her they kicked him out yesterday? The matron at the orphanage said that he was a bad influence on the other kids, and since no one was gonna adopt him, there was no point in him being at the orphanage. She took him to Jiji's office and started yelling until Jiji had said he'd put Naruto somewhere else. Then Jiji took him to a building and showed Naruto his new apartment. The old man said he'd take care of the rent, but that Naruto would have to buy his own food and stuff.

Jiji also said that there was a lady who would be coming in every day to make sure Naruto was okay…but Naruto hadn't met her yet. He asked if it was going to be Squirrel-Mom-Lady, since she already took care of him sometimes, but Jiji had said she had to go away for a little while.

Instead of answering her, he found salvation in something she'd said. With a confused frown he asked, "Wait…what does hygiene mean?"

Arisa sighed. _'Right. He's four.'_

"Nevermind…why were you buying a toothbrush and stuff? Doesn't the orphanage supply those?"

"Well…yeah…but…" His eyes darted around, trying to find something else to change the subject with.

The brunette could sense the kid's discomfort and resisted the urge to let out another sigh. Instead, she decided to back off and stop questioning him about it. She'd get him to tell her sooner or later though. He'd slip up.

"Alright, we'll talk about it later…for now…" it was Arisa's turn to look around for an idea. Her gaze fell to the multitude of bags and a quick plan formed in her mind, "How about you help me carry some of this stuff to my house? I only have so many arms and I kinda bought more stuff than I wanted to. Think you can handle a bag or two?"

Bright blue eyes blinked as he processed the question. She wanted his help?

"But…I thought we weren't supposed to talk too much because you'd get in trouble?"

Arisa grinned mischievously, "Well…yeah…but that was last week. This week everything is different."

It was true. Last week she was still a shinobi…this week she was a civilian who _used_ to be a shinobi. Big difference. Well. Not really. But it was a nice loophole and this was a fantastic way to flip off Danzo and all the other pricks who wanted Naruto to grow up feeling unloved _and_ it meant she could spend time with the little boy she'd watched grow since the day he was born.

"Eh?"

"Yup. Your Jiji practically _ordered_ me to watch out for you. He's thinks it's great that you have another adult you can talk to."

 _Ordered_ was a bit of a stretch, considering the old man had actually only slipped in a comment about her not getting in trouble for it…but she was a shinobi, and that meant looking beyond the obvious to find the obscure truth of the matter…or something like that. She was just gonna interpret it as an 'all clear' on the matter.

"Oh." Naruto took a second to process this, before a massive grin burst out across his face. This meant he could talk to Arisa whenever, right? And maybe now she was allowed to train him and stuff too!?

"So, how about we get this stuff to my house and I can make us lunch? Unless you're not hungry?"

On cue, the boy's stomach growled, reminding him that he hadn't eaten yet. His grin turned a little sheepish, and a soft smile pulled at Arisa's lips, more natural than most of the smiles she'd given in a very long time.

Arisa ruffled his hair and gestured towards the lightest of the bags for the boy to pick up. As he lifted the two bags of yarn, Arisa's eyes scanned the nearby trees and buildings, looking for one of her comrades, as there was no way Naruto was actually out on his own. Finally, she spotted a familiar cat-like Mask peeking between the leaves of a tree down the street. She nodded to Neko and gave a cheerful salute before leading the kid away.

* * *

 ** _So...apparently Arisa_ really _likes her peanuts. Must be a squirrel thing? And she's completely lost on what to do with herself now that the Hokage's grounded her. Poor girl just wants to kill some people and spy and stuff! And we now know Arisa_ can _go through a conversation with a member of the opposite sex without hitting on him? It just has to be an awkward/emotional conversation between her and someone who is just as lost when it comes to normal social interactions?_**

 **Mother's Mask _now has 27 Reviews, 91 Favourites, and 166 Followers!_**

 ** _Big thanks goes out to the two unnamed_ Guests, Moonstars, treesofsilverleaves, scarlettravencrove, Gilyflower, and loveshit _for reviewing!_**


	6. Shopping

Arisa sat across from the little boy, placing a plate heaping with food in front of him. She'd been careful not to put too much food on the plate, but she was sure that he would be so full he'd have to waddle instead of walk if he finished the plate. The Hokage might have unofficially given her permission to do this, but she wasn't sure how long that would last before some asshole ruined things…so she was going to make the best of it now, and stuff the poor boy silly with all the good, healthy food she could.

"Alright kid, stuff your face."

The blond only stared at the mountain of food before slowly looking up at her, silently asking if she was sure.

"Of course I'm sure. I made the food for you. Just eat as much as you want. You're too skinny."

After another second, the little boy shot her a grin that was nearly blinding before he began attacking the food.

The woman leaned back in her seat and watched the boy eat his food, letting her mind drift.

Now that they were safely tucked away in her home, she let herself go over what she had seen the boy buying in the store. Food, toilet paper, soap…tooth paste… She was going to have to have another talk with the Hokage, because once again the orphanage wasn't providing him with what he needed, clearly- but that didn't explain why he was buying all of that stuff at once, because he couldn't have run out of it all at the same time- and no matter how horrible the orphanage was, there was no way they didn't have toilet paper stocked in the washrooms. The would have no way over controlling Naruto's use of it, unless they went in before him every time…but she knew they never watched the boy close enough for them to be able to do that. They didn't watch him at all.

She'd try asking the kid again. He was pretty much two thirds through the plate and seemed to be slowing down now that there was a substantial amount of food in him.

It was funny how being full could lower people's defenses and make them more likely to let information slip.

"So, Naruto, why were you buying those things?"

He stopped eating for a moment, " 'Cause Jiji said I had ta get my own food since he was paying rent, and the matron said I couldn't take the toothbrush."

And then he was back to eating.

It wasn't a full answer, but it was enough for her to piece together what had happened, more or less.

Naruto had been kicked out of the orphanage, and the Hokage had found him an apartment using the Academy Orphan Fund. If an academy student, or academy-aged child was orphaned, they could receive funding by agreeing to fulfill their training in the academy and at the very least joining the civilian reserves (cannon fodder), the genin corps (semi-capable cannon fodder), or becoming full-fledged genin in a three-man-unit for one year. The orphan would receive an apartment, they didn't need to pay rent and a monthly allowance was given for food, equipment and spending.

Basically, Naruto had been kicked out of the orphanage and had likely unknowingly sold himself into military service starting next enrollment period. The Old Geezer had likely tried to explain that there was no backing out, but knowing the kid, he wouldn't have wanted to back out of becoming a ninja. He had idolized shinobi since before he could talk.

There was a way out of it, of course. Either Naruto became the apprentice of some civilian… or he was adopted. Neither of those seemed very likely though.

Of course, if Naruto was living on his own…they were going to have to go shopping again. That was soooo not enough stuff for him to live off. She knew he didn't have enough clothes and probably needed detergent to clean what clothing he did have. He'd need more food than the mountain of instant ramen he had purchased. He'd need materials for the academy when he joined, and he'd need equipment as well.

Plus he still needed to learn to read and write properly.

That was the problem with the academy. It was expected that a child already knew how to read and write when they joined. Basic math and science would be taught in the earlier years, along with the shinobi 'Code' (they taught it young so they could properly brainwash the children- not that anyone outside of Danzo's little army actually followed them). Parents were responsible for teaching their kids to read and write. If the child had no parents, then the orphanage taught them instead-

Unless your name was Uzumaki Naruto.

"Well then, how about once you're done your food, we go over to your apartment and see if there's anything else you need, alright?"

Something in the little boy's expression changed. He looked sad at the idea.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing…"

Arisa frowned, nearly pouting at the boy, "C'mon kiddo, you can tell me. I can't make you feel better if you don't tell me what made you sad."

"I don't like the apartment. It's too quiet," he reluctantly told her, "I can't hear the other kids snorin' an' there's no matron walkin' down the hallway at night. I can't sleep."

A wave of dull, emotional discomfort crashed over her. Didn't _that_ sound familiar.

Pulling her cheeks up into a fake smile that was getting easier and easier to slip into, she did her best to comfort the kid, "You know, Naruto-kun, that you aren't alone in there, right?"

"Wha-"

"You're a special boy, Naruto-kun, and there are people, the ANBU, who keep an eye on you. Even if your apartment is quiet at night, and you feel alone, just know that one of them is always there with you to make sure nothing bad happens."

"Jiji told me that Squirrel-mom-lady had to go away…"

 _Geez why did he have to call Risu **that?**_

"But Risu-san isn't the only ANBU who watches over you! There's Inu-chan, and you've seen some of the others right? They aren't half as sneaky as they think they are."

"Yeah! There's that cat guy! And the mouse-ferret guy. He's new. I don't think the others told him where's no good to hide yet."

…She was never going to let that little punk Weasel live that down. _Never._

The amused grin on her face refused to die as she ruffled the boy's hair, "See? You're not alone, you just have to listen _really_ hard. You'll be able to hear their breathing."

He gave her a tentative grin, and Arisa decided that would have to do for now.

"Now let's go check out your new place and see what I need to buy for you."

* * *

The place was painful to look at. Even from the outside, she had known it wasn't going to be pretty. The complex was built just on the edge of the red-light district. If that wasn't a big enough sign that this was a bad choice in housing, it looked as though the landlord hadn't spent a single coin on maintenance. When they got inside the building and to Naruto's apartment, it only added to the sinking feeling in her gut. The floors were stained, the walls cracked and paint chipping. She could see a cockroach scuttling across the kitchen counter, and she could hear the scurrying of tiny rodents within the walls and cupboards. A couple doors down, she could hear two people having a hell of an argument (apparently someone ate the last apple), and they definitely weren't using language she wanted Naruto picking up.

The apartment was small- A bedroom, bathroom and a kitchen-living room combo. But it was furnished, at least. Not nicely furnished, but there was a table to eat at (it was uneven and wobbly) and a couple of mismatched wooden chairs to go with it, a worn-out couch across from a bare TV stand, the kitchen had a stove and fridge (several years older than Naruto himself and likely needed replacing), and there was a (thankfully) new mattress in the bedroom along with a dresser and mirror.

The temptation to pick the kid up, turn around and go back home was _extremely_ strong.

"Right…So it looks like you're gonna need more food, some mouse traps- which you are forbidden from touching- a lot more clothing. A set of kunai for training…" Arisa began listing off items as she explored the small space, opening cupboards and drawers, "Utensils, dishes…"

The four-year-old trailed after her, wavering between awe that she was doing all of this for him, and stubbornness that made him want to protest all of her help- he was a big kid, he could take care of himself. Plus there was supposed to be a care taker coming in at some point to help him out.

Within twenty minutes, Arisa had scanned the place top to bottom and had a mental list in her mind that went for miles on what the kid needed. Some things could wait for another day, but others would have to be purchased sooner rather than later.

Before the boy could protest, she scooped him up and carried him out of the apartment in one arm. He was still for a long moment, before settling into the hold and wrapping thin arms around her neck.

Internally, she grinned like an idiot. She'd wanted to this that for years…to pick up the poor, lonely little boy she watched over, and buy him everything he should have been given. Good food, nice clothes, books and toys and- everything.

* * *

Shopping had been more tedious than she had thought it would be. She hadn't anticipated just how _awful_ the civies would be about it. Everywhere they went, the civies tried to chase them out.

 _Tried._

Arisa wasn't having any of their shit.

The first time they stepped into a grocery store, it was like every person in the room turned to look at them in unison. The normally passive expressions the civies wore as they wandered through the monotony of life twisted into angry scowls. Their eyes darkened and brows furrowed. Middle-aged woman tightly grabbed the shoulders of their children and hurried to herd their spawn away. Angry old men spat on the ground as the duo walked by.

It amazed (and enraged) Arisa to see just how instantaneous their reactions were. No one had said a single word, but they all knew who Naruto was the second he stepped inside.

She knew the boy had a lot of chakra- so much that a non-chakra-sensitive civilian could easily pick up on the power bottled up inside of him... but she still thought it ridiculous how quickly they could spot him.

She looked down at Naruto, and took in bot his appearance and his reaction. It was true that his vibrant blond hair, blue eyes and the markings on his face were out of place amongst the mostly brunette population-

Well. That was an idea.

One more thing to add to the list.

The boy was nervous. He kept looking from the angry civies to Arisa, like he was comparing her expression to theirs and was trying to see it she would begin to act like them. That wouldn't do.

She shot him a reassuring smile (ignoring the twitch in her left cheek, which was displeased with the amount of smiling she'd done today) before scooping him up into her arms and carrying him on her hip. With the kid safely gathered up in her arms, Arisa set off for the fruits and veggies.

"Do you know how to cook?" She wasn't really sure why she was asking- she knew he couldn't.

"No…but Jiji said there was suppose ta be a lady to come take care of me?"

A frown twitched at her lips. She doubted that would end well. Not that she doubted the Honourable Geezer, but after seeing who he had take care of Naruto in the orphanage- it seemed like inept caretakers had a talent for landing jobs with the poor brat. She wasn't going to bank on this 'lady' being any different- It sounded as though Naruto hadn't even met the woman yet- she should have gone to check on him first thing this morning. That was protocol. Make sure nothing happened during the night, and make sure his day starts off well. Nice breakfast, hygiene routine carried out, do the laundry if he doesn't know how himself.

"Hm…I'll put together a book of kid-friendly recipes- and I'll teach you how to cook…we'll get you a microwave too. Those are safer for kids to use than an oven." As long as he didn't put a fork in there…

She'd have to go over kitchen safety with him first.

"For now I'll just have to stop by and do it myself."

The boy's face snapped away from the pile of vegetables she'd been piling into a basket to stare at her.

She was going to come make his food? But she was already buying it and a bunch of other stuff for him and-

She ruffled his hair with her free hand, "Stop with the face, kiddo. I literally have nothing else to do, so I might as well."

When they were finished in the produce aisle, she moved on to other parts of the store, pointedly ignoring the glares from the ignorant civies.

There was a bit of a situation when they got to the register and the man at the counter tried to overcharge them… but a quick blast of mild Killing Intent put an end to that.

As they stepped out of the store and into the sunlight, Arisa set down the bags and the child in her arms so her hands were free to make signs. In a puff of smoke, a shadowclone of herself appeared, already picking up the bags. Before she left, the clone shot Naruto a cheeky grin.

"Whoa… that was soo cool! There're _two_ of you!" He exclaimed, before his brow furrowed, "Where's she goin' anyways?"

"Well we still have a lot to pick up, so I'm sending her back to your place with the groceries." The clone was also taking a brief pitstop along the way, but she didn't bother bringing that up.

Once Naruto was back in her arms, their journey continued to a nearby clothing store. The reactions to Naruto's appearance there were a bit more...vocal.

Nearly a second after they stepped inside the store, a voice called out, "Young lady- you can't bring that thing in here!"

Her gaze slowly turned towards the middle-aged manager, who was scowling at the child on her hip. She could feel Naruto's hands cling to the fabric of her coat, and the already protective instincts she had towards the kid flared up.

"I'm sorry, sir… is there a problem?" Her tone was light, but the KI that leaked out of her flavoured the words like an audible poison.

"You- You can't bring that th- _child_ in here."

She blinked slowly, face arranging into an overly-confused expression, "Oh? Are children not allowed? That's very strange, sir. How do you expect to sell any children's clothing if you can't bring kids in to try them on?"

"Children are allowed- just… not that one- Miss, do you know who that boy is?"

"Well _yeah._ It's not like I'd just pick up some kid that I don't know- that's kidnapping…you know that, right?"

Annoyance flared across the man's face, "No I mean- do you know what that boy is?"

Again, Arisa blinked in fake confusion, "… a boy?"

She was rather curious if the man would blurt out the 'secret'. If he did, the ANBU would descend and arrest him for treason. That'd be funny. Awful because she didn't want Naruto to find out like that, but funny.

Probably a good idea to shut the guy up before he actually let anything slip.

Arisa easily let the emotion slip from her face, until there was nothing but Risu left in her, "Listen. We're here to buy some things, and then we'll leave. We have other places to be, and all you're doing is keeping us here longer."

And then she waltzed on towards the children's section, child in hand, before the man could utter a response.

* * *

They left the store half an hour later, arms once again full of bags. Several shirts and shorts and pants had been bought, both in his current size and a couple sizes up (in case she wasn't able to do this with him again). They'd also gotten him more socks and underwear, a couple pairs of sandals of various sizes, some sweaters and jackets for when the weather cooled down, and a couple sets of pjs.

Once Arisa had dealt with the more troublesome people, the only real problem they had faced was when she and Naruto disagreed on colours.

Naruto was a fan of orange. Bright, fiery orange.

Arisa was a stickler for her whites and pale blues.

While she knew better than to dress a four year old boy in _white_ , there was nothing anyone could say to make her think Naruto would look anything less than adorable in light blue.

It would have been easy for her to say 'no' every time he found something orange, given that she was the one who would be paying for it, but she also knew that he absolutely adored orange, and letting him wear it would make him happy…

Eventually, she just settled for buying one of each.

Over half of the clothing they'd bought was orange or blue.

After creating another clone to take away the bags, Arisa found herself bombarded with questions and excited, childish babbling from the cheerful child at her side. She did her best to keep up with his questions as she started leading him to the next shop.

"How do you _do that?!"_

"Chakra. When you start at the Academy, they'll tell you all about it- but you won't be able to make a clone for a long while."

"Awww why not?"

"It's harder than it looks, kiddo. You gotta use just the right amount of chakra- and not all clones use the same."

"There are different kinds of clones?!"

"Yup. There are normal ones, that only look like they're there, but they can't touch things. They're just moving pictures of a person. Then there are elemental clones. You'd use dirt or water or other things to make 'em, and they can move things around and get in fights- but if they get too hurt they turn back into whatever was used to make them."

"What about the one you made? Was she made outta air or somethin'?"

Arisa laughed, but tried to remember if she'd ever heard of an airclone… would it be made of air dansely packed into a person-shaped bubble of chakra? And would that use more chakra than a shadowclone, or less?

"No, I used a special kind of clone. She's made up of only chakra. But it takes a lot of chakra to do it. Most people can't even make them, it uses up so much."

"Why not? Doesn't everyone got catra?"

"Chakra. And yes, but everyone has different amounts of chakra, and different jutsu use different amounts- and you don't want to use up too much chakra, otherwise you get really tired, and that's no good in a fight."

"What's a jutsu?"

The informal, rambling, topic-changing lesson continued as they walked. Every time Naruto asked a question, the conversation would change direction as Arisa did her best to impart as much knowledge as she could, without going over his head with information.

* * *

Her clones had dispersed by the time the pair made it back to Naruto's apartment. Before they had, Arisa was thankful to note that they'd also put away all of Naruto's things _and_ fixed some of the problems in his apartment. The table no longer wobbled (they'd sanded down the other three legs and used wood glue on all of the legs to make sure none of them came loose), put plaster over the cracks in the walls (a can of paint sat in one corner, ready to be used to finish the project when the time came), the floors were washed and traps for the bugs and mice were set.

It would have to do for now.

Arisa glanced at the (new) clock on the wall and frowned. It was later than she had realized. Nearly time for him to eat, if she was honest. The 'caretaker' still hadn't shown up- or at least she hadn't while the clones were still there, judging from the memories she'd gotten from them.

It would be poor form if she left without feeding him again, wouldn't it?

Better stay and make him dinner.

"Alright kiddo, you put your toys away in your room and I'll start making dinner, alright? When you're all done you can help me."

He sent her a giant smile, clutching his larger-than-life stuffed squirrel in one hand, and carrying a bag of toys in the other. The Squirrel had been his choice. She'd tried to find something a little less…squirrelly, but he had insisted. And then he found a stuffed dog and a cat… From there he and Arisa had gathered an animal for each of his ANBU guards.

She'd also gotten him some blocks, a puzzle and a ball. There was so much more she wanted to give him, so much more that the kid deserved…but it seemed like a good idea to spread the gift-giving out, rather than dump a thousand gifts upon the kid at once.

Arisa had only just finished pulling out the ingredients for their meal when the boy came charging back into the room, eager to help.

"What do I gotta do?"

She laughed, but motioned for him to join her in front of the sink, gesturing towards the stepping stool one of her clones had gotten while they were out, "First things first- when making food, you have to wash your hands first. You don't want dirt and stuff in your food. _And_ there are these nasty things called germs that make you sick if you eat them… they really like to cling to hands. The problem is they're super tiny, so you can't see them- but they really hate soap."

Blue eyes stared at her, wide and alarmed, before the little boy lunged for the bottle of soap she'd left next to the sink.

* * *

The making of the meal had been…entertaining, to say the least. Mostly, Arisa had left Naruto in charge of washing the vegetables and cuttingboard (under no circumstances was she gonna let him touch the knives yet). She helped him measure things out, and when it came down to the actual cooking of the meal, she had the boy hand her ingredients.

"Butter."

"Butter," he repeated, carefully handing her the little plate of butter.

"Veggies."

"Veggies."

"Chicken."

"Chicken!"

The entire process carried on like this.

Arisa thought it had been fun. He seemed to enjoy it, and the kid had been so proud of himself when they sat down to eat their food. If she could, she'd have to do this again… make him food and have him help in the preparations.

It wasn't long before the meal was done and the time for her to leave was looming over them. She did, however, stick around long enough to decide it was time for the kid to go to sleep anyways.

"Right… Time for bed."

Naruto, who had been in the midst of working on a writing workbook she'd gotten to help him learn to write, looked up at her with a confused look, "What?"

"It's late, and you need to sleep. So it's time for bed."

"But-"

"No 'buts' about it, little man. Let's get you ready for bed," Arisa said, standing up and walking towards the kids room.

Not sure how to talk his way out of bedtime (and not entirely sure he wanted to risk trying to get out of it and make Arisa upset), the boy trailed after her. When he reached his rom, Arisa already had a set of his new PJs out.

"Get changed and brush your teeth, and when you come back, I'll tuck you in and tell you a story, okay?"

The boy proved to be his father's son in the next instant. Had Arisa been a civie, she was sure all she would have seen of the boy was a blond little blur. He darted forward and hugged Arisa's leg before grabbing the PJs and dashing off towards the bathroom.

In what had to be a world-record, the boy was changed and his teeth brushed, and he was back in his room, diving for his bed.

Arisa laughed at his enthusiasm, but internally winced, knowing that this was the first time an adult had tucked him in for bed.

The teen took a seat on the edge of the bed and leaned over the beaming boy. She pulled the blankets up to his chin, making sure that the stuffed squirrel was positioned next to him so that its head peeked up over the blankets just like his did.

It was after Naruto was all settled in and staring at her with wide, expectant eyes that she realized something quite crucial.

Arisa…didn't really know any kid-friendly stories.

Shit.

"Okay then…um…what kind of story do you wanna hear tonight?"

"Somethin' cool!"

Riiiiight. That really narrowed it down.

"Alright…something cool…anything else?"

"Ninjas!"

She could work with that. Maybe.

Was it illegal to talk about missions if you presented them in a fictional way? Changed the names, locations and dulled down the violence enough for it to work as a child's bedtime story? She wouldn't tell him about anything she'd done as an ANBU…maybe when she was a genin? Nothing she did back then was classified… There had been a war going on, and there'd been all sorts of explosions and fighting going on…

"Hmmm… Lemme tell you the tale of Tsubaki, a freshly graduated genin who ended up taking on a camp of bandits with her teammates on her first out-of-village mission…"

* * *

She stood up from the edge of the mattress and double checked that the window to his room was locked. Having finished that, she found herself checking under the bed and in his closet to be sure that there was no one waiting for her to leave. Wasn't it strange, that adults usually did this to assure the kid there was no monsters…but she was checking to assure herself there were no _monsters_?

Arisa silently moved through the apartment, briefly waving at the cat-masked ANBU who had hidden himself in a shadowy corner of the apartment's main room. Even though she knew Neko would keep a good eye on things, she couldn't stop herself from checking the place over herself…just to be sure. Thankfully the apartment was small, and it only took a couple minutes longer for her to comb the place over.

"I'm going home now…please lock the door behind me, ANBU-san."

Of course, she was well aware that he knew who she was…they had been comrades for years, so of course he had seen her face before…but they both had to act as though they had no idea who the other was.

Neko gave to response, but when she left the apartment, the lock clicked a moment after the door closed, putting her mind at ease.

The walk home was quiet and uneventful, save for one thing.

Halfway home, she become aware of the unmistakable feeling of someone watching her. It alarmed her for only a moment, before she picked up the chakra signature of her 'stalker'.

Inu-chan was playing guard dog, apparently.

"You don't have to follow me home, you know."

There was no response, of course.

"I'm more than capable of getting to my own home…did the Hokage put you up to this? Make sure I don't take down anymore criminals on my evening strolls?"

She caught a brief flash of movement in the corner of her eye as the ANBU moved to another shadow further down from her.

There was a long moment before she thought up another reason, "Or is it because I'm not a 'suspicious individual'? 'Cause I hung out with the kid today?"

Arisa halted her steps and turned to look at the opening to an alley on her left, where Inu leaned against a wall with a fake aura of casualness. He minutely shook his head twice- a single negative motion to both of her suggested reasons for his accompaniment.

She sighed, "Shouldn't you be lurking around the kid's place, making sure nothing happens?"

Another head-shake.

At this, she shrugged and started walking again. The silent man fell in step with her, not even bothering to hide in the shadows any longer.

"…you already finish your shift?"

A nod.

"Sooo you're technically supposed to be on your way back to HQ."

Another nod.

"Then why are you following me instead?"

Of course, he didn't answer that question.

Arisa decided to answer it for him.

She smirked, and the ANBU seemed to grow wary of her all of a sudden.

"Ah, I see. Inu-chan just wants to come home with me- there's no need to be so secretive about it, you know… If a cute stray like you turned up on my doorstep, I'd let you in in an instant. I'd even let you sleep in my bed with me, if you're a _good boy_."

The ANBU gave off an unimpressed air. He silently lifted a hand and swatted the back of her head.

Arisa gave an exaggerated gasp, "How cruel! A big, strong, elite shinobi abusing a poor, innocent civilian like me-"

At the word 'innocent', the Masked individual made a strange noise- something amused and disbelieving that he hadn't meant to let slip at all.

"And now he questions my virtue!"

The ANBU stopped walking.

One would think it was due to her words, but if the prickling on the back of her neck was anything to go by, Inu-chan had noticed someone else was watching them. And this time, she couldn't recognize their chakra.

* * *

 ** _Well is started out nice and cute? Things are gonna be a little less cute next chapter._**

 ** _Arisa and Naruto got lots of bonding done today! I was gonna have more happen in this chapter...but I really just wanted to write a happy-ish chapter. I need happy right now (Hence why this fic is being updated, instead of Demon Eyes (oops)) This chapter was actually a couple thousand words longer, but I decided to save that for the next chapter. Let's keep this one mostly happy~_**

 ** _I think Arisa did a pretty good job taking care of Naruto today, given she probably hasn't really spent time with a kid since she was a genin... Might want to learn some better children's stories though._**

 **Mother's Mask _now has 117 favourites, 210 follows and 38 reviews!_**

 ** _Big thanks to_ neatfreak16, EclipseNighClub, Grinch (Guest), P1ckab0, loveshit, MonsterUnderTheSink, akagami hime chan, MoonStars, His Rose bud 125 _and_ Angelusica _for reviewing!_**

 ** _Please continue to show your support- Reviews keep me alive!_**


	7. Plotting

Internally, Arisa began cussing up a storm. Why was it that after such a nice day (although a little tainted by the shitty treatment Naruto received from some people), things had to get complicated? First Inu-chan tries to come home with her (although that admittedly wasn't an awful thought), then someone else decides to follow them?

Best act like they hadn't noticed a stranger watching them.

What had she been talking about? She had said something about letting him sleep with her if he was good…he swatted her head for being stupid, then-

Arisa let her smirk curl further in amusement, "Aw c'mon Inu-chan, I was only kidding- I'll let you in my bed if you're a bad boy too! Although I can think of a better place for you to be smacking me, if you want..."

The ANBU gave a heavy sigh, but started walking once more, until he was just a step behind her to the right.

Her mind was racing, even as she continued to spew suggestive things to the silent man next to her.

Someone unknown was following them- that could be anyone, not necessarily a baddie… But which of them were they following? Her or Inu-chan? If they were following her, it was possible someone- a shinobi- had seen her with Naruto and…what? Wanted to stop her from taking care of the kid? That list of suspects was pretty damn long…

She was still thinking when her home came into view. As much as she didn't like leading whoever was following them to her home, it would be safer to speak in there…once she combed the place over for spies.

Inu-chan nearly shoved her through the threshold (In another place, in another time, she would have been _quite_ pleased with the idea).

It was a relief to be in her own home. She sniffed the air (although she was no Hatake or Inuzuka, who were both known for their canine-like senses), and picked up no scents save her own, Naruto's, Inu-chan's and what might have been Operative Weasel's scent (he and Inu-chan had been watching Naruto for most of the day). Nothing looked out of place, and as she moved throughout her home, pretending to be settling in for the night, she didn't find any sign that anyone else had been there.

She turned to look at the ANBU who had been following her around the house, "So Inu-chan…any idea who the fuck that was?"

He was still for a second before using his hands to sign out 'ROOT?', although he wasn't entirely sure it was them. Inu wasn't really sure why he had even started walking her home, other than having had a bad feeling about something.

"Fucking shit," Arisa hissed, "Whyyyyyy?"

She'd done well enough to avoid Danzo and his 'ROOT'. She wasn't a big name, having carefully monitored her reputation to keep it that way, she'd been from a prominent civilian clan so she couldn't be spirited away like some of her peers had been, and she had always acted brash enough that she had successfully deterred him (not that she had always known about Danzo's secret forces).

Her mind flashed back to that day not too long ago, when she had thought one of Danzo's ROOT Operatives was watching her. Sure it had only been Naruto, but she had thought she'd drawn Danzo's attention by speaking to the boy.

Today she had done a hell of a lot more than talk to the boy. She'd fed, clothed and taught the boy more than anyone else had up until today.

She knew Danzo didn't want Naruto to have any ties in the village- he wanted the boy to become an emotionless husk of a child, like his ROOT, and he couldn't do that if there were people who knew the boy well enough to know if something was wrong and run off to the Hokage.

Arisa rubbed the bridge of her nose, annoyed that there was so much political shit getting in the way of her taking care of the kid.

"Okay…there's a path in the cellar that comes out in the woods behind the house. If you send a clone, we can tell the Hokage. I swear if they try to take us out, I'm gonna track down Danzo and gut the bastard!"

* * *

It wasn't long before Inu-chan's clone dispersed, sending him the memories it had of speaking with the Honourable Geezer. There wasn't much he could do, given neither of them had actually seen anyone, and they were both 'high-strung' individuals (given that both of the teens hadn't had a vacation in four years- at least until Arisa got suspended). He had said that he would be sending a couple of trusted shinobi to keep an eye on the place, hidden from sight. And he requested that Inu-chan stick around and play bodyguard for the night.

Arisa was a bit miffed about that, if she was honest. She wouldn't say no to back up, especially if it meant she could bother Inu-chan all night, but she was ANBU too, you know. She could kick ass just as easily as Inu-chan (maybe less flashily, but there was more to being awesome than fancy light-shows).

Honestly, she knew they were probably over-reacting. Danzo had likely had her tailed because she'd spent time with Naruto, yes…but that didn't necessarily mean he was going to have her taken out that very night. He was probably trying to figure out what her angle was. Was she working for someone outside of the village? Was she purely Hiruzen's soldier (no shit, he was the Hokage)? Was she planning on killing Naruto? Or was she actually trying to help the kid? According to what she knew about Danzo, the man probably thought that last one was the worst-case.

The Third had given them a suggestion, however. If Danzo was watching her…it would be best to make herself seem like less of a threat to Danzo, and a 'good' influence on Naruto. Which meant acting like Danzo, if anything. She had to seem completely loyal to Konoha (not difficult), a little thirsty for war, neutral about Danzo's meddling (if she had to admit knowing about said meddling) …and a little less fond of the Third. And that meant doing a little bit of improv in clear view of the windows.

Plan made, Arisa set about performing their little show for whoever was watching.

"Right, I'm going to go have a shower- thank you for walking me home, Inu-chan, but I should be good now. I'll see you later," she told the man in a dismissive tone, before heading to the washroom to have her shower.

For the entire 20 minutes she was in there, ANBU Operative 'Inu-chan' didn't move from were he stood, barely in view of the nearest window.

He wasn't entirely sure what Arisa had meant when she said 'I'll improvise', and a part of him was feeling somewhat…apprehensive. Arisa was unpredictable at times, and it was never wise for one's…mental…purity?...to try and guess what she would do next. The chances were she would do something even more provocative or outrageous than you could imagine.

At the moment he was just begging whatever god was listening that when she left that washroom, the woman would be fully dressed. This of course was a bad idea because it brought forth the thought that she _wouldn't_ be clothed when she stepped out and-

He was in luck. As tempted as she _was_ to strut out the washroom in nothing but a towel, she knew this wasn't the time for that, and instead came out dressed in an outfit that was both functional and comfy. It was only from having known and fought beside her for years that he could tell she had at least a dozen blades on her person.

She meandered out of the room, a relaxed look on her face, letting out a relieved sigh. As though she had had a thoroughly relaxing shower. This relax expression faded away to confused annoyance when she saw he was still there. She then covered that expression with a hastily thrown on smirk. Her formerly sedate stride shifted into a cocky strut with a slight swing of her hips- completely normal behavior for Arisa.

"Inu-chan…Didn't I already thank you for walking me home? You _really_ don't have to stick around- I'm sure you have important things to be doing."

The man didn't say anything- he simply crossed his arms and leant against the wall next to him, as though to say that he wasn't going anywhere.

She quirked a brow, "Not leaving, huh? Well then…Is this little overnight stay of yours a _friendly_ visit…" a slow, confident grin crossed her face as she nearly purred the words, "or are you here for business?"

Again, he didn't answer, nor did he move.

That was the best part of being an ANBU- you didn't have to say anything to anyone if you didn't want to.

She pouted at his silence, then suddenly stiffened as a look of dawning understanding took over her expression. And then Arisa's lip drew back in an annoyed sneer, "For fuck's sake- just because my grand father was friends with that meddling old geezer _does not_ mean he can just…send ANBU to monitor me in case- what? I get attacked by another bunch of sick, perverted civilians? Or are you here in case I 'turn vigilante'?"

Inu-chan pushed himself off the wall.

"Tch! It isn't enough that I get suspended from all shinobi activities for a fucking year- because I apprehended a bunch of men who wanted to do who-knows-what to me, and apparently getting filth like that off the streets is a crime now- now I have to deal with ANBU spying on my every movement? Really?!"

He made a placating motion with his arms, as though trying to coax her into calming down.

This earned him a snarl, and she spun on her heel, stomping towards her bedroom, "He wouldn't even need be worried about me becoming a vigilante if he would just let me do my job. I told him I didn't need to 'take a break', I'm perfectly capable of completing my duties. Just because I've been away on missions for years now doesn't mean I'm tired. If I had known saying 'no I don't need a vacation' would lead to this shit, I would have just taken the damn vacation."

Inu tilted his head at her retreating figure before responding in a monotone voice, "I will inform the Hokage that you are displeased with this arrangement when my duties are completed."

She seemed to visibly deflate, letting her head rest against her bedroom door. She didn't turn around to address him, but he could easily hear the quiet, "Thank you, Inu-san." despite this.

In a louder voice she continued, "I'll be going to sleep now- and locking this door- If you need me just pop through the window…I'll wake up."

She didn't let him respond- if he was going to- before she stepped into her bedroom, firmly shut the door and locked it. While the lock would do nothing to stop an intruder from entering her room, the traps that were no doubt connected to said lock likely would.

The ANBU stood in the hallway for a moment longer, silently curious as to how much of that little scene had actually been an act and how much had been her honest frustration at her current predicament. After a moment, he internally shrugged and exited the house to find a place to settled in for a long, sleepless night.

He couldn't find the chakra signature that had followed them all the way back to Arisa's home, but he couldn't be sure they were gone. He'd stay until Arisa headed out to visit Naruto in the morning… She hadn't said anything about going to see him, but it seemed obvious to him that she was going to spend as much time as she could with the kid. Inu figured that it would kill two birds with one stone- Arisa could take care of Naruto, and the guards meant to watch Naruto could also keep an eye on her to make sure Danzo didn't try anything. It wasn't like any of the others on the squad would protest having to watch over Arisa as well as Naruto.

Risu was family.

* * *

Arisa laid in her bed for several hours, staring blankly up at the ceiling. She was carefully monitoring her breathing, heartrate and chakra to mimic sleep. Not how she planned to spend her night. She couldn't even enjoy the fact that Inu-chan was perched somewhere outside her window, like some boy she was trying to sneak into her rom without her parents finding out-

'Sleeping' in combat gear was uncomfortable. AND she had made sure there were around 14 different weapons on her person- not too many more, since that would just slow her down if she wasn't careful. Plus, one didn't want to be impaled by their own hidden weapons. Embarrassing.

She wished she still slept in HQ. All this could be avoided, and she and Inu-chan would be able to get a good night's rest- sorta. ANBU rarely had what most people called a 'good night's rest'… too many nightmares dancing in the back of their minds. Memories and ingrained instincts that told them never to let their guard down-

It had to have been after four hours or so that she felt the slightest flicker of unknown chakra somewhere outside, retreating from her property at a swift but relaxed pace. Clearly, they were done…whatever it was they had wanted to do. Had they just been told to watch her for part of the night? Surveillance? Scoping out her property?

She waited a moment or so longer before dragging herself out of her bed.

Using her (less than perfect) chakra sense, she managed to track down her 'guard'- he'd parked himself somewhere outside her house, near her bedroom window. There was no sign of the person who had been watching them, but it was always possible that they had been replaced by another person, and the second 'ROOT' was suppressing their chakra because they knew Inu would be keeping watch- why the first hadn't hidden themselves from the start was a question though. Maybe they had just wanted to scare her? Make her leave Naruto alone out of fear of what would happen to herself?

The night was muggy and oppressive, making Arisa almost regret opening the window. She leaned out and rested her arms on the sill, propping herself up as she stared blankly at the tree line behind her property. After a moment, pale blue eyes drifted away from the woods to stare at a large tree that grew not far from her home. Its branches stretched towards the window she current stood in.

Words danced in her mind, daring her to speak them. Some were nothing more than her usual verbal diarrhea- cheap pickup lines and mocking innuendo. Others were more serious, wanting to form some sort of plan of attack… her comrade could help her take out the threat- only this wasn't a mission, she was not an ANBU (for now) and the 'threat' was most likely the Hokage's childhood friend and a key political figure in Konoha.

But there was one other thought that begged to be let slip- the same one that had sat at the tip of her tongue when she'd sat by the Memorial Stone with Kakashi… the idea that was quickly becoming more and more fleshed out with every second. It was growing into a full-fledged plan. She'd have to check with the old geezer, but she couldn't see him saying no to her.

The plan was growing so quickly in her mind that she needed to speak it aloud, if only to let some of it out to make room for more…if that made any sense.

Might as well be to one of the people she trusted most in the world…right?

"So, I've got a horrible idea," she announced into the seemingly empty air, "And I'm gonna say it and then ignore you when you advise me against it."

The branches closest to her exuded a strange sense of amused exasperation and a heaping helping of apprehension. Straining her ears, she could hear the faintest sigh.

"And I have every right to, seeing as I'm a grown-ass woman, and if I wanna become a mother, that's my business."

There was no need to strain her ears now, as a surprised sound came from the thick foliage.

Her lips quirked up into a predatory grin, "Unless, of course, you wanna help me with that sometime…"

The proposition was clear, and anyone who happened to be out there, on her private property, listening in to her conversation with a tree, would be confused, but would take her words for what they were…probably.

The leaves parted slightly to reveal a familiar dog-faced Mask, which stared at her with hollow, judging eyes.

She burst out laughing, feeling the exasperation rolling off of him intensify, "Damn, Inu-chan, don't get so grumpy, I was only asking if you wanted to babysit sometimes...that's all."

Inu-chan only continued to stare at her, before lifting a hand and silently drawling (as only one well versed in ANBU handsigns and body language could) a long, disbelieving ' _Riiiiiiiiigght'._

She winked at the Mask before the happy, joking expression on her face fell away and she was serious once more, "But honestly, Inu-chan…I have a few more things to go over in my mind…but I think I'm gonna become the mother of a sweet, blue eyed little hell-raiser."

There was a near inaudible snort, muffled by distance, control, and an emotionless Mask.

* * *

 _ **Sooo this chapter really didn't want to be written? I kinda had to fight that and some other things to get this out... so this is what we get? Hopefully the next chapter will be better?**_

 _ **This one was a little more serious, but it can't all be Naruto being a cute little boo... At least Arisa got to 'flirt' with her favourite Inu-chan...and we got to watch Arisa and Inu-chan run around in the ANBU version of panic: react, ask the hokage for orders/permission to act and then just sit there feeling EXTREMELY paranoid.**_

 _ **Also I just realized its going to be an unholy hell is Arisa ever meets Jiraiya. Which She will. Someday. Probably sooner than any of us think. My hands just type things and I'm just as surprised as y'all are...**_

 _ **ANYWHO~**_

Mother's Mask _now has 153 favourites, 255 follows and 53 reviews!_

 _Big thanks to_ MozzartFan23, Alyce DreamEater, HavenHearts, sparrowhawk13, EclipseNightClub, Guest, neatfreak16, Angelusica, MoonStars, pigs103, dantezess, CaroRetlaw, PrettyPansexual, Mighty Empress, **_and_** ToshimiOkami _for reviewing!_

 _Please continue to show your support- Reviews keep me alive!_


	8. Hiding

Looking at her, one would hardly know that she hadn't slept at all the night before. There were no bags under her eyes, her cheeks rosy and her eyes bright and clear. Makeup was a gift from the gods.

Dressed in a simple blue dress and a pair of nice shoes, Arisa left her home and set a leisurely pace. She carefully took note of her body language, and adjusted it so that she seemed just as harmless as the next civilian walking down the street. She had an experiment planned for today, and it was important that she seemed as civilian as possible.

Or course, this didn't mean that she wasn't armed to the teeth…just that it looked like she wasn't packing enough kunai to make a metal porcupine.

It took her a fair while to cross town and get to Naruto's building- her home was located in a more upscale section of the village, thanks to her paternal family's history as well-to-do merchants. If there was one thing she hated about pretending to be a civie, it was how slow they were.

When she reached the door to his apartment, Arisa fixed a shy, polite smile on her face before knocking. She could tell there was someone else in the apartment besides her kid and the ANBU guarding him. From what she could tell, the person inside was either hiding their chakra, or only possessed a small amount. Average genin level. Not hostile, given the lack of murderous ANBU.

The door swung open to reveal a younger girl-twelve or so years old, with dark brown hair and brown eyes. A headband (still shiny and new) sat on her forehead, plainly telling Arisa that the girl was only a genin.

A glance around the room revealed that the girl had been in the process of preparing Naruto's breakfast (a bowl of cereal, a glass of milk and an apple sat on the table, looking rather bland and half-assed). Naruto, however, was nowhere in sight.

The genin's eyes roved over Arisa, taking in the polite smile and civilian appearance, quickly writing her off as 'harmless', "You've got the wrong apartment, Miss."

Arisa continued to smile politely, "No, this is the right one. I'm here to see Naruto."

The girl was instantly on guard, "I'm going to have to ask you to leave-"

Before the girl could finish speaking, likely about to use some intimidating line about how civilians should not meddle in shinobi affairs, a blond blur shot into the room and straight for Arisa. In an instant, Naruto had his arms around Arisa's legs, attention focused solely on her as he tilted his head back to talk up at her. Arisa did her best to ignore the way Naruto's grip limited her ability to move quickly in case of an attack, and instead forced herself to relax again and just smiled warmly down at him.

"Arisa! You're back!"

"Of course I am! We still have all sorts of things to do today," Arisa told him, ruffling his hair as she casually unwound his arms from around her with her free hand.

The genin seemed to flounder as she watched the scene. This wasn't what she had been expecting. She'd been told that the boy's actual caretaker had quit, and she'd been asked to feed him and make sure he was alive and okay before meeting up with her team for training.

When she got here, the door had been locked until she convinced one of the ANBU to open it so she could feed the kid. The fridge had been full of food, but most of it was raw and she didn't want to be too late for training so she had just went for some cereal and an apple instead. And then some civilian woman shows up with a weird smile and asks to see the boy- but none of the ANBU seemed on edge, even though she knew they were there, watching. If the woman was a threat, they would have stopped her, right? Before she could even debate if the woman was really a threat, the kid came flying out of nowhere and started hugging her.

The ANBU still weren't doing anything, and the woman seemed...happy to see the kid. The kid was definitely happy to see the woman. He was talking a mile a minute, asking about what they were going to do that day, and she was calmly telling him about what she had planned...something about reading and writing, and then they'd go for a walk and get lunch- maybe she was a tutor?

It didn't really matter either way to her. She was running late already and no one seemed to think the woman 'Arisa' was a threat… so the genin supposed that was good enough.

"Alright...since you're here, and not dead yet, I guess I'll just be heading out then."

Arisa gave the girl a disappointed, angry look as she scurried off. Did the kid really think this was okay? While Arisa was definitely not going to hurt Naruto, was she seriously going to just leave Naruto alone with a stranger? What the hell were they teaching genin these days? Sure the girl was just there to feed him, but he was still her charge and she should make sure he's safe before taking off-

"Arisa? I-is everything okay?" Naruto's suddenly timid voice yanked Arisa out of her thoughts..

"Yeah, don't worry about it. I was just thinking about something- who's that girl? Is she your caretaker?"

"No...she said the lady who was supposed to take care of me quit yesterday, and Jiji asked her to come see me before she went to train with her team," he reported back, before frowning a little, "That's what she told me but Weasel and Cat-guy didn't get mad at her...so I guess she's okay?"

Arisa let out a quiet sigh. She had figured that the person meant to check up on Naruto had quit, given they had never showed up the entire evening she was there the night before. She supposed that the genin was only a temporary fix until the Hokage could find a suitable replacement. A very, very temporary fix.

The little plan Arisa had been piecing together became a little more solid, and a bit more urgent. She'd be ready to tell the Hokage her plan soon.

"Hmmm...well it looks like she didn't have enough time to finish making your breakfast, and It's been ages since I had mine... so how about I make us something nice to eat and then we start for today?"

The boy nodded enthusiastically, "Can I help?"

"Of course! The more hands the better." She told him, quickly clearing up the weak breakfast attempt on the table, "But first, how about you get dressed for the day, brush your teeth and wash your hands, okay? I'll get everything set up in the meantime."

He zoomed off to get ready, leaving Arisa in the main room with an amused grin.

* * *

The majority of the morning was spent working on Naruto's reading. The day before, she had gotten him a workbook for writing and another for reading. They were both very basic and she knew it wouldn't be long before she would need the next level in both. She would be happy to do it too. Every time he completed one of the tasks inside, without asking for her help, she felt a wave of pride wash over her. He was a bright kid- he'd be brilliant with the right people guiding him. His parents had both been powerful shinobi- the Fourth was hailed as a genius….was it any wonder their son was just as smart when given the chance. He soaked up information like a sponge- she had quizzed him on what he'd done the night before, and even some of the things she told him in their little ramble-lesson earlier that day, and he'd remembered even more than she had.

Of course, part of her suspected that part of it was more his desire to show her he was good and smart...something no one else seemed to tell him often enough. Every time she praised his work, he'd give her that blinding grin.

When noon began to approach, Arisa called an end to the lesson, "Right, I think we've done enough learning for now. How about we go out for lunch today?"

The little boy let out a happy cheer and danced around slightly, before his movements puttered out and a frown appeared on his face, "But...they don't like me...what if they don't let us eat- oh! Are we going to Ichi-ra- um… Ramen?"

"No ramen today, sweetie. I was thinking we'd try somewhere else...and I have a special plan I want us to try. They'll never even realize it's you."

Wide, curious blue eyes looked up at her. While he was a little disappointed they weren't going to have ramen, Naruto wanted to see what Arisa had planned.

Several minutes later, Naruto was sat on the bathroom counter, trying to hold still as Arisa carefully spread foundation over the marks on his cheeks, careful to get just the right amount- and rather proud she had found the right shade for his skin tone based off of memory alone.

"See, sometimes ninjas are a little silly, and think that chakra and jutsu are the answers to everything, but sometimes the solution to your problems can be solved very easily… Make up is an excellent way to disguise yourself over longer periods of time, or when you need to suppress your chakra as well as hide your identity." The little boy nearly nodded, but stopped himself just in time- scared to mess up whatever Arisa was doing. After a couple more moments of her blending the make up in, she pulled away and nodded to herself, before gesturing to the mirror behind him, "See for yourself."

Naruto turned where he sat, and stared at the reflection in the mirror. There was no sign of the lines on his cheeks at all! Like they were gone. He swiveled around again and launched himself at Arisa who managed to catch him, doing a little spin to get rid of the extra momentum.

"Just remember not to rub your face too much, okay? When we get back I'll wash it off for you."

Instead of setting him down, the woman just carried the boy out of the washroom and headed towards the door, briefly pausing long enough to henge her hair as blond as his before continuing on.

"Whoa! How did you- what was that one called?"

"It's called a henge. You use this one when you wanna disguise yourself, but you don't have any makeup, or you need to become someone completely different. If I wanted to, I could even turn myself into Jiji," she whispered conspiratorially. It was sort of frowned on to even talk about impersonating the Hokage, for obvious reasons.

"No way!"

"Yes way."

* * *

Arisa felt...content. And proud of herself. It was a change from the numbness of her ANBU years, and the empty monotony that her life had become without ANBU… this was good. It was like the days before the kyuubi attack- or before her dad died. Those days when her parents would waltz down the halls of the house like a couple of idiots and Arisa would grin and laugh at their antics.

The smile on her face right now was real.

Naruto was running around her, seeming to be having the time of his life, even as they made their way towards one of the more kid-friendly restaurants in the village.

She had thought about taking him to an Akimichi-owned establishment. They were good people, and their shinobi heritage meant they had a better idea of what Naruto was...not a demon, but the vessel. They would know he was a hero. If someone did notice who he was, they wouldn't be kicked out, but she didn't want to ruin their reputation, or have another customer make a scene and cause them any stress. Plus the Akimichi were damn fine cooks, and their restaurant would be filled with people this time a day. It would be better to go somewhere quieter.

No one seemed to realize anything. At a glance, she and Naruto looked similar enough that they could be mistaken as relatives. The 'demon brat' didn't have a family, and therefore this boy (who had no whiskers) was clearly not the demon brat. Simple as that. Throughout their outing, Arisa never called him by his name, only calling him 'sweetie' when she needed his attention (not that Naruto noticed).

Even after they sat down at a small table smack-dab in the middle of the room, no one noticed. The longer the pair sat there, eating their food, the more excited Naruto seemed to get. No one was staring, glaring or whispering mean things about him, or trying to make Arisa leave him. This was awesome!

When both of them had finished their meals, Arisa took him by the hand and they went for a walk.

"Is there anything you want to do today before we head back?" Arisa asked him as they meandered down the street, just enjoying the ability to walk around without anyone trying to start trouble.

"C-could we go show Jiji?" he asked hopefully, excited to show Jiji his 'new face'.

"Oh good idea! I have something I need to talk with him about anyways!" She scooped him up and set off at a brisk pace, still keeping the civilian speed, but grateful for her strength as a kunoichi.

* * *

Naruto waved at the chunin stationed at the desk, not even stopping before making his way towards the Hokage's office. Arisa was quick to scoop him up once more.

"Hold your horses, kiddo. Let's tell the chunin why you're here and then wait 'til Hokage-sama's ready to see you, yeah?"

The little boy pouted at her but quickly turned to the chunin, "We're here to see Jiji!"

The man behind the desk stared at Naruto for a long moment before recognition suddenly bloomed across his face. Looks like the make up was a definite success then. The chuunin's eyes flickered towards Arisa, looking like he didn't recognize her, despite the fact she was sure he had been at the desk when she went to speak with the old man last time-

With a jolt she realized she was still walking around blond. Shit.

"Whoops- sorry Naruto, but I can't keep matching you right now." With that said, she cancelled the henge and sheepishly smiled at the chunin. He raised an unimpressed eyebrow, but motioned for her to go ahead.

Part of Arisa was grateful for the lack of hassle, but the part of her that was an ANBU, who had just spent years guarding Naruto and the Hokage (among various other activities) was annoyed at the obvious lack of proper security and protocol- someone shows up with the jinchuriki, wearing a disguise...and you just let them stroll into the elderly Hokage's office, just like that?

Although anyone with a brain knew the old guy was still a badass, despite the grandfatherly persona he had cultivated in his old age. Arisa was sure it would take at least three other Kage-level opponents to take him down if he went all out.

She raised a hand, looking at Naruto did the same, and the duo knocked on the door together.

"Come in."

As she opened the door, Arisa set the boy down and let him run into the room.

"Jiji! Arisa got rid of my lines! An' we ate at a restaurant and nobody got mad at me- it wasn't as good as Ichi-ra-ku's but it was-"

"Naruto? Slow down for just a moment," the Hokage asked, chuckling at the boy who was standing on his tip-toes to look at the Hokage over the edge of the desk. The old man then looked towards Arisa, "Arisa...What's this about the markings?"

"Makeup. I figured if we got rid of that and I went around with matching hair, no one would notice a thing. It worked. He's too young to be learning how to use henge on himself, but it'll help when he needs to buy things for himself...without getting kicked out."

"Arisa helped me get groceries and she bought me new clothes that fit and today we worked on my writing and reading and she even got me a stuffed squirrel and a stuffed dog and a cat and a weasel- and a couple of others for all the ANBU who keep an eye on me!"

"I heard you two had a very busy day."

The amused look he sent Arisa was also loaded with a silent 'we need to talk', making Arisa feel like she was in for a hell of a lecture. It was hardly fair, since he said it would be okay...but that was later. For now Naruto was the focus of this visit.

They spent the next while listening to Naruto retell the majority of the previous day in excited detail, no matter how minute it seemed.

"And I have five orange shirts! An' a couple of blue one's 'cause Arisa thinks blue is nice-"

"-we made dinner and Arisa told me about germs- they're little things that like to sit on your hands and if you eat them they make you sick, so you have to use soap 'cause they're scared of it. I'm not scared of soap-"

"-told me a bedtime story- my first bedtime story ever! And there was this girl Tsubaki, who was super cool, even if she was a girl, and she beat up a bunch of bad guys-"

By the end of the half-hour visit, Naruto had managed to talk himself out, the Hokage was amused (and grateful that Arisa had been there to make something for him to eat, seeing as the woman he had hired to take care of of Naruto had quit with no notice, and the Hokage hadn't been able to check on the boy himself because there had been an urgent meeting called by the council about the Uchiha clan. Again.), and Arisa was nervous, having not realized just how much she had done for the kid in one day.

Finally, there was a knock on the door, and the chunin poked his head in, "Hokage-sama...Uchiha Fugaku is here to speak with you…"

"Ah...send him in." The chuunin nodded and disappeared once more. The Hokage looked towards his guests (both of whom he'd much rather had hanging around than the angry Uchiha), "It would appear our visit has come to and end. I'll let you both get back to your day...but thank you for keeping an old man company, Naruto-kun. Arisa...if you would stop by at some point this evening, I believe there is much we have to discuss."

"Yes, Hokage-sama."

"Bye Jiji! Me an' Arisa will come see you again sometime soon- as long as Arisa's still allowed to be my friend?" The little blond looked worriedly between Arisa and the Hokage, just knowing that there was something they weren't saying because he was there.

The Hokage offered the boy a comforting smile, "I very much doubt anything would stop Arisa from being your friend, Naruto-kun. And I look forward to seeing you soon. Maybe we'll go get ramen next time."

Arisa and a now-relieved Naruto left the room, passing Uchiha Fugaku as the man stormed down the hall towards the Hokage's office with all the positivity of a thunder cloud.

* * *

It was nearly 8'o'clock by the time Arisa was able to get to the Hokage's office again. She had spent the rest of the day with Naruto, cleaning up his apartment and fixing things up, as well as more entertaining things to keep the kid occupied. Eventually, she had made dinner up for both of them and gotten Naruto to go to sleep at a decent time. It had taken several 'bedtime stories' before he had eventually passed out.

She'd have to find a way to tire him out more before bedtime. Maybe afternoon walks? It was too early to be actually training him...but maybe playing games like tag and hide-and-seek? It would be easier if there was another kid he could play with, but there was a lot of risk in that- no civie would let their kid play with him, so he'd have to be in disguise, but kids played rough...so any disguise would have to be harder to remove than makeup...and it wouldn't be fair to make him keep such a massive secret from a potential friend. So maybe a clan kid? But from which clan?

...There would be time to figure that out later. For now she needed to deal with the Hokage.

She didn't bother entering the building, instead appearing at the window of the Hokage's office, seated on the windowsill. She raised a hand and rapped a knuckle against the glass, making the old man turn in his seat to look at her. The elderly man gave her an exasperated look, but motioned for her to come in nonetheless.

She slipped into the office, and after a brief check of the room (only feeling a couple of chakra signatures, all of whom were people she trusted with her life), "So what did you want to speak about, Hokage-sama?"

"Last night. Operative Inu gave me his report," Hiruzen said, sucking on his pipe, "I wanted to speak with you about where we go from here. As I said to Naruto-kun this afternoon, I know there is little I can do to stop you from seeing him, short of ordering you to cease all contact. The being said...I need to know what you want to do about this, Arisa. If you continue to care for Naruto, it is quite likely that certain people will try to interfere...We'll need to do something sooner or later."

Well that was a lot more direct than she was expecting...but this was good. She did have a plan, afterall.

* * *

 _ **Sorry for the long have been...Interesting lately. And my laptop's dead...so writing's a little harder now, since I have to borrow mum's computer instead.**_

 _ **There was going to be more to the last scene in this one, but I'm having trouble working it all out, so we may have to skip the discussion and hop straight to the result if it keeps being difficult like this. Hopefully more will actually happen in the next chapter. Preferable another Iruka-sighting if I can help it.**_

 **Mother's Mask _now has 313 Followers, 198 Favourites and 60 Reviews!_**

 _ **Big thanks to**_ **akagami hime chan, LinkinDesert, emc6128, Mighty Empress, HavenHearts, Willowtuft _and_ Urano (Guest)** _ **for leaving reviews!**_


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